The latest addition to the Understory Garden Gallery is Vintage Bush Truck by esteemed Noongar Elder and artist Janine McAullay-Bott.
The sculpture depicts an old truck left discarded in the bush — a vessel of memory and lived experience. Through its form, the work speaks of bush tracks and weathered truckies, of long journeys along lonely roads, and of a way of life shaped by Country. Both fragile and enduring, the truck appears as a ghost of itself, holding onto the character of days gone by and resonating as a fond memory for many.
Janine describes the work as capturing something aged yet bold — “like grapes which have aged boldly like a fine wine.” In doing so, Vintage Bush Truck invites reflection on time, use, and survival, honouring stories embedded in the landscape and the objects left behind within it.
Southern Forest Arts is honoured to welcome this powerful work into the Garden Gallery collection.
Janine McAullay-Bott is a highly respected artist with an extensive exhibition history. She is a 2009 recipient and five-time finalist of the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, and has participated in major programs including Sculpture by the Sea (2017–2019) and the Packer Family and Crown Resorts Foundation Indigenous Art Program. Her work is represented in public collections including the Art Gallery of Western Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria.
