I sincerely believe everything would be a little better with a little listening

This work will be on display at the Bluethumb Gallery in Richmond, Melbourne for the 2023 Bluethumb Art Prize Finalists Exhibition from October 11th to November 27th. Delivery of this work will take place following the 2023 Bluethumb Art Prize Awards Night on October 26th.

this work is apart of a series for an exhibition in 2022 called “Boys Boys Boys” at floating goose studios. This piece is named after the first line of a poem. 

“I sincerely believe everything would be a little better with a little listening. Some wine and Christmas cards with cute little phrases in them that rhyme beside the tv, that you refuse to read.
Silly silly. 
Your little personal worlds so dark through no fault of your own, and I hate the idea of you sitting around alone being eaten alive by mosquitoes wishing the thoughts would go. 
I worry about your dignity, you’ve been such a good friend to me and I, hardly.
Whatever effort we can make to slow down time we’ll try. I’m full of faith, the kind not too deep inside, that it’ll all be fine. “

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Billy Oakley is a South Australian visual artist practicing with oil paint. His use of colour and subject matter are striking, familiar and yet uncanny, evoking a dreamlike tension. Billy was part of 2021's SALA Festival Artist in Schools Program and has exhibited in group exhibitions across South Australia. He has held solo exhibitions at Brunswick Street Gallery (Vic), Sol Gallery (Vic), Floating Goose (SA), Collective Haunt (SA), Mixed Spice Studios (SA) and The Mill (SA).