Artists statement

'Crossing the Merri' comes from Siri Hayes’ 'Lyric Theatre series' (2002-2004). This large digital photographic print depicts a scene of still beauty as the couple contemplate the Merri Creek and its surrounds. The image by Hayes is of Merri Creek in winter with the bare deciduous trees, ragged in nature but not indigenous to the local area. These trees were later removed to make way for indigenous planting, so this photograph also documents the changing values we have in relation to our environment.

Artist Bio
Siri Hayes is a Melbourne-based artist who predominantly works in the mediums of photography, video and textiles. She has exhibited widely in Australia and internationally since the early 2000s in exhibitions at galleries such as the National Gallery of Victoria, the Australian National Portrait Gallery and Heide Museum of Modern Art. She travelled with her family on an Australia Council funded residency to Barcelona Spain and has been the recipient of awards such as the Olive Cotton Award for Photographic Portraiture and funding grants from Creative Victoria and the Australia Council. Her work is held in over 20 Australian public collections and many private collections in Australia and around the world.