“The works explore similarities between scientific representation of the natural world and artistic abstraction.

“Many microscopic images have an uncanny similarity to their macroscopic counterparts. Often these images look more like art than science. This observation has captured my interest for many years and is expressed in my paintings through the use of shapes, marks, colours and textures that suggest things that exist in microscopic and macroscopic worlds.

“The paintings employ techniques of chance such as decalcomania and frottage to create organisms such as cells, amoeba, planets or stars. These organisms float on the canvas; they allude to life under a glass slide or the infinity of outer space.

“Some of the works use a finely-etched grid to give an impression of scientific credibility and to suggest a governing principle that holds everything together.

“The grid operates as a visible representation of order. It articulates an organising theory for natural phenomena.”

- Malcolm Harding, 2025.

Pictured: Malcolm Harding, Beneath the Surface (2024). Oil on canvas, 160x110cm. $1,800