Australia is the world’s third largest exporter of yellowcake; a concentrated form of uranium ore in powder form. Yellowcake is a multidisciplinary exhibition of paintings, ceramics, installation, and photography developed in response to the Mary Kathleen Uranium Mine in North Western Queensland. The mine finished rehabilitation in 1986, however the open pit remains accessible to the public, luring intrepid visitors with its toxic charm and forbidden azure blue water.
Lee Wilkes combines traditional oil paint with alternative materials to capture the landscape’s evolving relation to time, place, and memory. Wilkes uses repetition, reflection, and abstraction to express a feeling of impermanence and transformation in his work. He lives and works in Meanjin (Brisbane) on Turrbal and Yagera land.
Images L to R: To the Core, 2023, oil on ceramic tile; Elevation Pool, 2023, oil on ceramic tile; The Pilgrimage, 2023, oil on ceramic tile.
