Todd Jenkins is a Tasmanian painter whose current work – a body of paintings about the story of Lake Pedder – is to be exhibited at Despard Gallery in Hobart in December.

The paintings embody a historical narrative, for example: the movement of Aboriginal people who frequented the lake; their use of fire that has contributed to the landscape we see today; the splendid button grasses; native fauna scattered around the lake; the tannin stained shallows; and the magnificent beach that lies some 13 metres beneath the waters of a hydro-electric scheme.

The paintings are multi-layered reflections of Lake Pedder today, in the past and hopefully the future. Dr Bob Brown will open the exhibition at Despard Gallery, 15 Castray Esplanade, Battery Point at 6pm, 4 December 2015. The exhibition concludes 24 December 2015.