MICHAEL RANSOM
Connection
Oil on canvas 76 x 102cm
As soon as my son Daniel was old enough to swim, my brother, (always a keen surfer), began initiating him into surf culture. The connection with sea and sand and the natural environment initially centred around home and the local beaches accessible from Hobart and sometimes further afield in the more remote parts of Tasmania.Emerging from his teens he travelled initially to Margaret River, WA and found work there. Later he travelled across the continent in his Kombi van and once again connected with my brother who had settled in the sunshine Coast. They both lived and worked there for decades.In between times my son found a strong connection with South East Asia through surfing and making enduring friendships with the people of those cultures. I feel that culture is the enriching and fundamental thing that connects us a humans and with the natural world in general.