Historically tied to realism and colonial narratives, Australian landscape painting is undergoing a profound reimagining in the hands of contemporary artists. While landscape as a genre has been a central motif in Western art, it continues to hold relevance today, evolving in response to shifting cultural values and evolving conceptions of land and the natural world. These changes are manifested in both the mental frameworks and visual representations through which we engage with nature. 

A notable example of this redefined landscape practice is Myles Young (b. 1992), a Brisbane-born artist whose work actively challenges and expands the conventions of the genre. Through a fusion of personal symbolism, abstraction, and digital manipulation, Young’s practice provides a critical rethinking of the Australian landscape, moving beyond traditional depictions to engage with broader themes of identity, memory, and imagination. 

Myles Young, The Introvert, 2025

To understand the evolution of this reimagining, it is essential to consider the historical foundations of landscape painting. Landscape painting emerged as a distinct subject in the 18th century, evolving from mere backgrounds in other compositions to a central focus of artistic expression. This shift gained further significance in the early 19th century with the rise of Romanticism, where nature was depicted as a vast, uncontrollable force, often idealised and regarded with awe and reverence. During this period, representations of nature also became vehicles for emotional expression and individualistic artistic identity. This coincided with European settlement in Australia, where early landscapes depicted the land as possessions in the process of a colonial project of nation-building. The Heidelberg school, sometimes described as “Australian Impressionism”, focused on capturing the uniqueness of the Australian bush, with artists painting en plein air to capture the subjective atmosphere of rural areas around Melbourne, away from the early days of industrialisation and urbanisation. However, with the advent of the 20th century, traditional conceptions of the artist’s role in engaging with nature were radically challenged, opening the door for more nuanced and complex interpretations of the landscape. 

This challenge to traditional forms of representation continues to resonate in contemporary landscape painting, which draws upon these briefly outlined traditions while simultaneously pushing boundaries. Contemporary works in this genre range from representational approaches to those emphasising emotive and abstractionist expressions, as well as drawing influences from Neo-expressionism, abstraction and digital media. At their core, these works respond to pressing concerns surrounding nature, particularly the tensions related to land ownership and exploitation within a postcolonial sociopolitical context; they also often address ecological threats in a world where both the land and human settlements are frequently ravaged by natural disasters, and where climate change increasingly leads to population displacement.

Myles Young, Sky Over Coco's House, 2025

Within this context, Myles Young presents a distinct perspective. His works, characterized by a deliberately artificial aesthetic and the depiction of indeterminate or imagined spaces— described by the artist as "nowhere in particular", “what’s hidden around the next bend or behind a shrub”—challenge traditional notions of place and representation. Young's early exposure to European art and his degree from the National Art School in Sydney inform the hybrid, liminal quality of his practice. Over a career spanning more than a decade, he has developed a body of work that is simultaneously familiar and disorienting, marked by a sense of placelessness, yet unified through a consistent and self-referential visual language.  

Young’s richly detailed compositions are developed through a process of layering digital drawings and pen sketches, enabling chance to play a generative role in the emergence of form. This method is further enriched by spontaneous mark-making in oil and acrylic, introducing unexpected visual dynamics and unconventional perspectives to his canvases. These layering and spontaneous qualities are particularly evident in Peekaboo (2025), which the artist describes as a convergence of “bizarre leaves, impossible skies, [and] lively and twisting plants,” highlighting the surreal and imaginative nature of his landscapes, which deliberately diverge from traditional realist conventions. The title, Peekaboo, functions not merely as an invitation to engage with the work, but as a conceptual cue that anticipates the act of viewing itself. In this sense, the composition is structured around the presence of the observer, aligning with Jacques Rancière’s theory of spectatorship that empowers the “emancipated spectator” not as a passive recipient but as an active participant in the production of meaning. This notion is further reinforced by the title of the exhibition, A View To Yourself, which frames the encounter as both introspective and experiential, an invitation to momentarily inhabit a space where the boundaries between landscape, perception, and self-awareness are blurred. In this way, Young’s landscapes function as both visual and psychological fields, offering a meditative interlude in which the viewer contemplates not only nature, but their own position within it. 

Myles Young, Peekaboo, 2025

“I wanted to explore this idea that although the landscapes are vivacious and full of colour and subtle movement, there is a sense that they are yours. You’re the only person viewing them, a moment known only to you.” Myles Young 

Mapping emotional geographies more than physical terrains, Young imbues his botanical forms with anthropomorphic qualities, each plant serving as an expressive surrogate for human affects. This is evident in works such as The Introvert (2025), where a solitary plant evokes themes of introspection and isolation, and Siblings (2025), in which the depiction of twin flowers references relational dynamics and familial intimacy. The artist also infuses his works with personal memories and experiences. Sky over Coco’s House (2025) references a personal connection of the artist's, yet the house is depicted in an anonymous manner that allows for a universal interpretation. As the sole painting in the exhibition that subtly suggests human habitation within the natural landscape, this work can be viewed as a critique on the encroachment of human settlements upon the natural environment. Through these deliberate gestures, Young's landscapes become sites of emotional projection, bridging the gap between the natural world and human subjectivity. 

Myles Young, Slow Grow, 2025

This exploration of emotional resonance is enhanced by Young’s treatment of light, a central theme in the tradition of the Heidelberg School. Just as artists like Claude Monet, Tom Roberts, and Arthur Streeton emphasized the ephemeral qualities of light, Young captures the subtle transitions occurring within his landscapes throughout the course of the day. Through works that capture the shifting dynamics of daylight (Slow Grow (2025)), sunset (Hot Sunset (2025)), and night (Green Arch Peekaboo (2025)), Young explores a multiplicity of atmospheric variations. Nighttime landscapes, in particular, elude direct visual representation, emerging instead as products of pure imagination, where the absence of visible light invites the viewer to confront the unseen and the conceptual. This approach also resonates with the Symbolist and Surrealist movements, which sought to represent the unseen or the subconscious, as seen in the works of artists like Giorgio de Chirico, in whose oeuvre the absence of visible light invites the viewer to confront the unknown, thus blending the real and the conceptual. 

Myles Young, Green Arch Peekaboo, 2025

Myles Young’s landscapes occupy a unique position within contemporary Australian art, combining historical traditions with a forward-thinking exploration of place, perception, and the human experience. Through his innovative use of emotional projection and the manipulation of light and space, Young constructs a body of work which exists in liminal spaces, evoking a sense of realms just beyond immediate perception. His works transcend the geographical and cultural specificity of Australia, engaging with universal themes of identity, memory, and ecological consciousness. In a manner akin to Australian artist Christopher Gentle, who described his own practice as “a metaphor for [his] personal experiences and [his] accumulated understanding of the human condition”, Young redefines the landscape genre, fostering a deeply introspective dialogue between the natural world, the viewer, and their own inner landscapes.  

Myles Young, Hot Sunset, 2025