Somewhere in Between at Show Your Westside

Some artworks carry more than paint.

Somewhere in Between was one of those pieces for me.

I exhibited the work in Show Your Westside, a large group exhibition held in Footscray featuring around 300 local artists. It was the first time I had been included in an exhibition of that scale and walking into a room filled with so many artists from the west was something I will never forget.

The energy on opening night was incredible. There were more than 300 people there, the exhibition was beautifully put together and the standard of work was extraordinary. To be part of that room, alongside so many talented artists, felt like a real moment.

The piece I exhibited was a large black and white monochromatic painting called Somewhere in Between.

It explored my own cultural experience of being half Indo/Fijian and half Dutch, while never feeling entirely one or the other. I did not grow up feeling fully Indian. I did not feel Dutch either. I existed somewhere in the middle.

That space between cultures can be difficult to explain. It is not always painful, but it is complex. There is a quiet sense of never quite belonging to one place, one identity or one story. The painting became a way for me to give that feeling a form.

The black and white palette felt right for the work. It stripped the story back. No colour to soften it. No distraction. Just the contrast, the figure, the surface and the feeling of being caught between worlds.

The Painting was Sold!

What made the exhibition even more significant for me was that the painting sold.

It was bought by Grant Miles, one of the major sponsors of the event and the owner of the Melbourne supermarket chain Cheaper by Miles.

I did not win one of the exhibition prizes, but having one of the main sponsors choose my painting and buy it felt deeply meaningful. In many ways, that moment became its own kind of prize.

It was also a milestone in my career as an artist because it marked a significant jump in the price someone had paid for one of my works. That kind of moment matters. Not because art is only about money, but because it was a sign that the work was being seen, valued and taken seriously.

Exhibit Your Work

Looking back, Show Your Westside was one of those moments that quietly shifted something in me. Exhibiting your work is a valuable experience as an artist whether you sell your work or not. 

It reminded me that I belonged in the room even though the painting itself was about not quite belonging anywhere.

The exhibition became a marker of growth and a moment of recognition for me. It was a reminder that the stories we sometimes struggle to explain can still reach people through our art.

And sometimes, the work that comes from feeling in between is the very thing that helps us find our place.

Available in Print

If you love the painting and would like it hanging on your wall, it's available in print on canvas or Giclee fine art paper. Click here to find out more.