Death's Witness - Vanessa Barbay Exhibition

Death's Witness is an exhibition of specially created animal shrouds. For sixteen years the artist has been commemorating the life of animal kin, the shroud process forming a unique mortuary ritual. The animal body is encountered at their death site, their remains gathered and placed on a canvas while decomposing, drawing a unique silhouette. After a month the transformed bodies are photographed and painted on canvas using bitumen, oil and collected earth pigments to create a series of unique artworks.

After graduating from Shoalhaven High, Vanessa Barbay developed the shroud painting process during her practice-led PhD at the Australian National University. Barbay returned home to Vincentia in 2014 working as an artist in residence on the Bherwerre Wetland public art project. She has had residencies at Bundanon, Worrowing and Hill End, won the inaugural Halloran Prize in 2022 and teaches Visual Art and photography at Vincentia High School.