In 1995 The Discovery Channel was launched in Australia bringing nature into our living rooms like never before. In this painting the tiger has casually walked onto the tabletop, posed in a classic diagonal pacing format with his back foot ever so slightly raised, balletic and delicate in direct contrast to the ferocious stare. Something has caught its eye outside the picture frame, perhaps even slightly behind us the viewer. Perhaps he’s staring bemusedly at a television screen or is there something else? Are we in danger from the thing in front of us or the thing behind?

The seagull in front has decided to ignore all possible calamities and is suddenly up for a little jig. The tortoise seems beset with his own worries as he confronts the edges of the tabletop. The magpie is dangling teaspoons on a string and the nosy miner bird on the other side has a spoon hanging from a pair of spectacles. The spectacles reminding us to look at the details in life, enjoy the small things as well as the big spectacle itself.

As far as we know from his extensive autobiography, The Story of My Life, Giacomo Casanova, the 18th century adventurer and libertine never saw a tiger but here in this painting the little figurine of him placed upon the red apple of temptation stares intently at this extraordinary creature. Like a scene from the television series, Land of the Giants Casanova has made quite a discovery in this new world he’s found himself in, a wilder journey than he could have ever imagined.

Discovery and adventure is all about exploring new places, new ways of seeing and challenging perception. This is a painting not just about wildlife but pursuing a wild life. After all, we never want to get too comfortable just watching life on a screen.