Lindy Yeates

The little weatherboard church of St Stephens sits amongst the natural bushland of the Yarra River near Stiggants Reserve. It was originally built in 1906, destroyed by bushfire in 1939 and rebuilt a year later, making this resilient little sanctuary 80 years old in 2021. 

The image exhibited here was of the Victorian coastline at Scenic Estate Conservation Reserve on Phillip Island. This drawing was the first of many created during lockdown 2020. Sitting at tides-edge, I listened as migrating bird called to each other and beat their wings in squadrons; as insects droned and clicked and hummed; as mangrove mud flats popped in the sun and wind shifted the ancient moonah trees. “Here on the coastline during our COVID isolation, I found peace and contentment. Everything stopped and I became fully present to my surroundings; it was such a gift. In an untethered world, I felt grounded. I learned that some things are eternally present in our experience and remind us that '…this too shall pass'.” Lindy Yeates

Where was your sanctuary space in 2020?

This large scale piece, printed onto wallpaper and wrapped across the front of the church, can still be seen in place.