To show the landscape in a new way is no longer possible, but it is still possible for artists to express their personal involvement with the natural world through their representations of it. Graham Wood does this in a particularly engaging manner. He adopts a perspective, which is at once distant and personal. He is able to do this because, although he is influenced by the process of mapping from satellite imagery, he also enjoys spending time in direct contact with the earth, the forest and the natural, seasonal changes.  Such a stance makes Wood's imagery similar to that of John Olsen.

Wood explains that he achieves his unusual perspective by working with large canvases (1.8x1.5 metres) spread on the floor. This enables him to look downwards, to work on a large scale, but also to be mindful of details. Such a process leaves the marks of the floor boards on the canvas, so that the resulting lines look like the grid lines on a map. The straight lines also form a pleasing off-set to the organic lines and shapes which necessarily make up the landscape.

Because of the aerial viewpoint the viewer is able to engage with the works on different levels. The immediate impression is one of rich, earth colours and abstract patterns. The browns and creams of the earth predominate, but there are also muted greens and violets, such as can be seen on close inspection not only of the leaves but also of the bark of forest trees.

Working with acrylics, Wood's treatment of colour can best be described as 'lyrical'. His colour combinations are subtle and harmonious, but not without strength. They have a way of suggesting the extreme age of the earth and the trees. A sense of age and permanence is also conveyed through the textures. Like the colours, these are subtle, but they seem to refer directly to the textures of bark, of rocks, and of the earth itself.

Age is also a consideration in the way that Wood presents his work. He explains that his canvases are unstretched and unframed so that the canvas itself becomes part of the significance of the work. Being pinned to the walls rather than framed, they refer to other, earlier uses of canvas. They act as a reminder that much of the world was discovered by means of sails, that canvas has provided shelter in the form of tents. They also refer to the use of vellum (stretched lamb or calf skin) as an early form of parchment.

It is for this reason that the exhibition is entitled Skin of the Earth. This does not mean, however, that the exploration of the landscape, and its ancient forms, is superficial.