Westgate People

The Westgate Bridge has always been more than just concrete and steel to me—it’s an icon of freedom. It connects us not only to the highway system, but to the wider world of commerce, travel, and possibility. Australians have a long tradition of motoring holidays, crossing vast distances in search of new horizons and family reunions.

As Christmas draws near, I find myself thinking about the journeys this bridge has witnessed—families reuniting, adventures beginning, and the quiet anticipation of coming home. For me, the Westgate is a symbol of connection, adventure, and the spirit of the season.

Wishing everyone safe travels, joyful reunions, and a little extra freedom on the road ahead.

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As a painter I have drawn on my experiences as a human being to paint pictures that tell a narrative. Over the passed years these events and experiences have had a significant emotional effect on myself as an Artist. The events often manifest themselves in the form of memories and dreams, often verge into the area of the nightmare. As the paintings evolve a psychological landscape developes that use the metaphor as a trigger to prompt a discussion with audience. The events of life’s journey have impacted myself severely emotionally. These events are statements in the form of paintings..

Critique
The Artist is influenced by surrealism and Neo-expressesionism. His work conveys an intense dream like narrative. By looking at it’s clear simple colours, graffiti style brush work, the use of multiple materials and messy composition, one can sense the Artists moods when created these paintings, his rough path in life and his critical spirit. All images in the paintings are things closely related to the artists environment and experiences at a present point in time. They collide with hurt and prey on each other. The Artist created a series of horrifying bloody violent events which may arouse viewers minor anxiety and experiences the difficulty of survival, the unstableness of life, the absurdness of reality and danger of the environment. The artist reminds viewers and suggests that, the ecosystem in the painting, the weak being devoured by the strong, is no different than the than the cruel modern society.

DI ZHAO