27. GARRY SHEAD

Bundeena is a picture-perfect paradise nestled deep within the Royal National Park on the outskirts of southern Sydney. The township is neatly condensed to what appears to be a single street that hugs the shores of Hordens Beach. The pace is slow, and amidst silver gums, one can stroll from the beach to the supermarket in two minutes. The small village, just over an hours drive from Sydneys central business district, has been home to celebrated Australian artist Garry Shead since 1987.

Garry Sheads Bundeena 1990 is an ode to a time of unparalleled peace and harmonious family life. In the painting the artist expresses a personal delight in his surrounding landscape and the love of his late wife Judit (1949-2007). It was her recommendation that they move to Bundeena after visiting Bruce Petty in nearby Maianbar. Judit was born in Budapest and was an artist trained in the European tradition as well as a keen sculptor; a bronze by her entitled Spring sits above Hordens Beach wharf in Bundeena today. Tony Stephens notes in her obituary:

When one artist marries another, all sorts of sensitivities arise. Often one is more dominant than the other. Judit was a good artist and a determined woman, but she threw most of her energy behind Garry. While she sometimes felt she was not fulfilling herself as a sculptor, she understood the necessity of the muse.¹

Shead is one of the few contemporary Australian artists to use familial relationships so obviously in his work, and here, the two central figures share a striking resemblance to both him and Judit. The figures have morphed together, their eyes closed as their cheeks press together, in a moment of intense passion. Garry has referred to his relationship with Judit as the women who is my twin, of the same kind.² This sentiment is clearly portrayed in the present work.   

The romantic lyricism of Sheads double portrait expresses a mood of matrimonial bliss paired with a deep connection and admiration of the Australian landscape. The physical richness of the couple is manifested in the glorious local landscape. The scene, bathed in warm light, gives clarity to the vivid greens of the bush. The sea appears calm and clear while small waves lap the golden shores. A Gymea lily rises from the foreground presenting its petals to the sky. In the background a small ferry chugs across the water. An overall sense of joy is achieved by the heightened colour: The colour palette moves away from the darker reds of the interior landscape of Australia to the lighter sandy ochres that are characteristic of his environment.³

 Bundeena is an important painting in Sheads oeuvre. It highlights not only a moment of ecstasy in his personal life but also within his practice. As art historian Sasha Grishin observes, Sheads faithful observation of the flora and fauna within these Bundeena paintings enabled the creation of his personal Australian iconography, forming the bedrock for the iconic D.H. Lawrence and Royal Suite paintings that would follow.⁴

Footnotes

1. Stephens, T., Ever the Inspiration for Love and Art, The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 21 May 2007 [accessed February 2023]: https://www.smh.com.au/national/ever-the-inspiration-for-love-and-art-20070521-gdq6rh.html
2. Grishin, S., Garry Shead and The Erotic Muse, Craftsman House, Sydney, 2001, p.89
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.

Clementine Retallack