My deepest connection to the Adelaide Park Lands is the basketball court along Greenhill Road.

I am very fond of basketball as it is a game of strategy and responsiveness – two elements which I believe inspired Adelaide’s founders to make these Parks open to the public; a forum to encourage a collaborative community in the most foreign of lands.

The breaking down of this historical prejudice is represented in the scene at the painting’s centre - a magpie tradesperson playing basketball against a gentrified first settler fox. The magpie’s fake-out trips the fox, creating an opening to score – a metaphorical breaking down of class systems and boundaries.

The painting uses oil on an acrylic background, separating the subjects from the distinctive landscape of the tree climb, shrubbery, and basketball court, drawing the viewer’s attention to the variety of leisurely activities which inspire people to immerse themselves in the Park Lands.

Oil & Acrylic on Canvas 152 × 115 cm