Sand Talk: Reflections on Water, Culture, and Connection

The Water Knows

The Water Knows, the newest addition to my Sand Talk Collection, began—as all the works in this series do—with a moment of stillness. A quiet drift across water. A sandstone wall. A flicker of light. And suddenly, what appears on the surface of the water isn’t just a reflection—it’s something older, deeper, and strangely familiar.

As a fourth-generation Australian with roots in Northern England, I’ve often felt the pull of two cultural landscapes: the inherited European sensibilities that shape my artistic instincts, and the profound presence of Indigenous Australian culture that surrounds me every day. The Sand Talk Collection is where these threads meet.

These artworks are not created in a studio. They are captured in nature—reflections of Sydney Sandstone on water. Sydney Sandstone is ancient, some of it over 200 million years old, its colours and patterns shaped by time, wind, and weather. Through the lens of my camera, and in the fluid canvas of the water’s surface, these stones transform into swirling forms that, to my eye, mirror the visual language of Central Desert Aboriginal sand paintings.

What fascinates me—and what I invite you to consider—is this: is the resemblance I see a personal projection, a subconscious echo of a culture I deeply admire? Or are others seeing this too?

Central Desert sand paintings, often created using ochres or drawn directly into the ground, are spiritual, symbolic, and communal. They are not merely visual expressions but maps of story, land, and law. The circular forms, the flowing lines, the spatial relationships—they speak to Country in a way that is visceral, rhythmic, and rooted in place. When I see similar forms appearing organically in the reflections I capture, I am struck by the mystery of it.

I don’t claim to replicate or reinterpret Aboriginal art. Rather, I see these images as homages—a form of visual respect. Sand Talk is my way of listening, of responding through my medium to the stories etched into this land. The works are not only an artistic reflection, but also a personal investigation into what it means to be an Australian artist of European heritage who is seeking connection with the country’s original cultures and visual histories.

The newest work, The Water Knows, invites viewers to consider the question for themselves. Does the land speak to us in visual symbols—no matter our background—when we learn to see slowly? Can water become a mirror not just of stone and sky, but of story?

I encourage you to explore The Water Knows and the wider Sand Talk Collection from this perspective. Let the images speak to you, let the patterns ripple through your own interpretations. Perhaps in doing so, we begin to build a bridge—between cultures, between past and present, and between ways of seeing.

You can view The Water Knows and the full Sand Talk Collection. Each work is available for acquisition, and I would be honoured for them to find homes with those who see their story.

Let’s keep the conversation going—through art, through land, through the water that always knows.