The Intimacy of Darkness

Acrylic on board
900 × 1200 × 50 mm
$8,500

The Intimacy of Darkness explores the quiet inner spaces we create for ourselves long before we understand why we need them. Emerging through an intuitive and largely subconscious process, the work reflects on childhood memories of seeking out small, enclosed places—beneath blankets, high on wardrobe shelves, or anywhere that felt quietly separate from the world around me.

These places were never about hiding. They were places of belonging. Secret worlds that felt entirely my own, where solitude became comfort and darkness invited curiosity rather than fear. Within those shadowed spaces, details slowly emerged, imagination expanded, and stillness became a way of seeing.

The work considers the quiet beauty that exists beyond immediate visibility. While darkness is often associated with uncertainty, here it becomes a place of intimacy, reflection, and gentle presence. Rather than drawing us toward the distant light, the painting lingers within the shadow itself, inviting us to recognise the richness, safety, and emotional depth that can exist in the spaces we are taught to overlook.

Part of the ongoing Words Not Needed series, the work reflects the emotional landscapes we carry within us—those that often shape who we become long before we have the language to describe them.