Luke Wagner

Recent Memories, Tasman Island

1. Sound, Silence; Before I Was There. Tasman Island 2018
Oil and wax on linen
133 x 127cm
$8,500

AN ARTIST ON TASMAN ISLAND A visit to Tasman Island in 2008 was the catalyst for Luke Wagner's fascination with the island's dramatic landscape and history. For hundreds, possibly thousands of years, Aboriginal Tasmanians travelled to Tasman Island using their unique bark canoes. A ‘very ancient’ Aboriginal skull was recovered from a penguin rookery in 1913 and the island is the site of the first record of Aboriginal seal hunting in south east Tasmania. Numbers of Aboriginal stone implements have been found on the island. A wide variety of birds have been recorded, a mix of resident and transient species which can easily move, seasonally and even daily, to and from mainland Tasmania for feeding and breeding. The island also has an abundant seabird population; including the largest Fairy Prion colony and the only significant colony of sooty shearwaters inTasmania. Tasman Island lighthouse, the highest operating lighthouse in Australia, was first lit in 1906. Three light keepers tended the light until automation in 1976. The keepers and their families were removed in 1977, abandoning the heritage-listed buildings to time and the elements. Domestic cats, introduced by lightkeepers in the early 1900s, established a significant feral population when the light station was de-manned which had a severe effect on the native bird population. Attempts in the 1980s to reduce their numbers failed. In 2008 a joint effort between Wildcare’s Tasmanian Coast Conservation Fund, founded by Rob Pennicott, the Parks and Wildlife Service and the Resource Management and Conservation Division of the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, was ultimately successful. Seabird numbers and species diversity appear to have significantly increased following the removal of the last of the feral cats in 2010. The original vegetation on Tasman Island would probably have been a dense forest of banksia and she-oak. A few old specimens still remain, but clearing trees for firewood, fires and grazing by sheep and cattle converted much of the plateau into a windswept mosaic of grassland, shrubland and sedgeland. The Wildcare group, Friends of Tasman Island (FoTI) was formed in 2005. After 28 self-funded working bees, an impressive range of conservation and maintenance work on both the natural and built heritage has been achieved. Volunteers spend 10 days on the island each working bee. Ongoing funding initiatives are needed to restore the keepers’ quarters to their former glory. Luke generously donated his time, artistic skills and resources to ensure FoTI’s first crowd-funding campaign was successful. As a volunteer on their November 2017 working bee, Luke contributed (including a lot of painting!) to the rebuilding of the sunroom and front verandah of Lightkeepers’ Quarters No 2. The spectacular natural wonders of Tasman Island with its jaw-dropping views of Cape Pillar and the Blade are a magnet for artists. Luke is keen to help FoTI plan an Artist in Residence program on the island so more artists can be inspired by the beauty and history of the island while contributing to its conservation and sustainability. Luke's experiences and observations of the island’s dramatic moods, soaring cliffs, and native birds have inspired this exhibition. Each of the 38 species of birds are depicted together with a sonogram of its bird song. Immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of Tasman Island. Erika Shankley & Carol Jackson Friends of Tasman Island Wildcare Inc

2. John Cook’s steps, Tasman Island 2018
Oil and wax on linen
122 x 183cm
$8,500

3. On Tasman Island, the Haulage 2018
Oil and wax on linen
77 x 183cm
$7,500

SOLD

4. Morning Light, Tasman Island 2018
Oil and wax on linen
77 x 183cm
$7,500

5. Lost World, Tasman Island 2018
Oil and wax on linen
77 x 122cm
$4,900

6. The Haulage #2, Tasman Island 2018
Oil and wax on linen
77 x 122cm
$4,900

SOLD

7. Zephyr, Tasman Island 2018
Oil and wax on linen
77 x 122cm
$4,900

SOLD

8. Summer Heat, Tasman Island 2018
Oil and wax on linen
77 x 122cm
$4,900

9. The Lighthouse, Tasman Island 2018
Oil and wax on linen
77 x 122cm
$4,900

Birds of Tasman Island

1. Eudyptula minor 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

SOLD

2. Pachyptila turtur 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

3. Puffinus griseus 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

4. Puffinus tenuirostris 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

5. Pelencanoides urinator 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

6. Diomeda cauta 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

SOLD

7. Macronectes halli 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

8. Morus serrator 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

9. Phalacrocorax fuscescens 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

10. Ardea novaehollandiae 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

SOLD

11. Aquila audax fleayi 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

SOLD

12. Haliaeetus leucogaster 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

SOLD

13. Circus approximans 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

SOLD

14. Accipter fasciatus 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

SOLD

15. Falco berigora 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

SOLD

16.Falco peregrinus 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

SOLD

17. Ninox novaeseelandiae 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

SOLD

18. Dryolimnas pectoralis 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

SOLD

19. Haematopus fuliginosus2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

SOLD

20. Larus pacificus 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

21. Larus novaehollandiae 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

22. Sterna bergii 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

23. Calyptorhynchus funerus 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

SOLD

24. Phylidonyris pyrrhoptera 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

25. Phylidonyris novaehollandiae 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

SOLD

26. Phylidonyris novaehollandiae 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

SOLD

27. Petroica phoenicea 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

SOLD

28. Hirundo neoxena 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

SOLD

29. Hirundo nigricans 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

30. Zosterops lateralis 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

SOLD

31. Anthus novaeseelandiae 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

SOLD

32. Corvus tasmanicus 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

33. Alauda arvensis 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

34. Carduelis carduelis 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

SOLD

35. Carduelis chloris 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

36. Passer domesticus 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

37. Turdus merula 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

38. Sturnus vulgaris 2018
oil and wax on ply, unique frame
54 x 34cm
$1,650

SOLD