Margaret McIntosh

Rather than grand vistas, Margaret McIntosh turns her focus to the urban and suburban environments where the material realities of daily life unfold. In Lichen, a car hoisted at a mechanic’s and stripped of its wheels becomes a study of form, light and stillness, offering a contemplative pause in a fast-moving world. Engaging with both material culture and the Australian landscape tradition, McIntosh invites viewers to find beauty in the discarded and reflect on what we choose to preserve.

McIntosh’s work also draws on the Australian tradition of hard rubbish days, exploring the cultural fascination with cast-off objects and the stories they carry. Her paintings reflect a practice of gleaning, finding value in the overlooked, and tapping into the voyeuristic curiosity sparked when private possessions spill into public view. Through works like Together, which features vintage lawn chairs, McIntosh critiques consumerism and obsolescence, suggesting that immortalising these fragments in paint is a quiet act of resistance against the churn of disposable culture.

Margaret McIntosh is a 2024 Paddington Art Prize finalist and lives and works in Melbourne.