The Mother of Pennyweight Flat (square crop)

This is a self portrait and ode to the women and children of the goldfields.

If you've ever been to Pennyweight flat, you'll know it's simply heartbreaking. It's a cemetery for the children who died in the area during the gold rush of the 1850s. Mostly babies and toddlers...it made me reflect on the dreadful conditions families must have lived in, hoping to strike it rich. You'll find piles upon piles of stones marking shallow gravesites - around 200 little souls rest there.

The place and thoughts made me so sad I wanted to imagine that there was a mother figure watching over them, telling them stories and singing them lullabies. And so this picture was inspired, to remember the children of Pennyweight Flat.

Pennyweight Flat was so named because the ground was barren, 'not a pennyweight of gold was found there,' and parents felt it was safe to bury their children there without risk of them being disturbed (and no gold was sacrificed). You can visit the site and pay homage just outside of Castlemaine.

Open edition (limited time) with hand-torn edge and signed/titled by artist.

Square crop Edition, Archival print on cotton rag paper.

20×20cm

28×28cm

Size listed is total print size.