Insert Coin to Begin

Insert Coin to Begin became the People's Choice Award winner at the SAA Artists of the Year 2025. More than almost any other painting I've created, people recognised a part of their own childhood in it. It confirmed that the ordinary moments I was choosing to paint could resonate far beyond the places themselves.

For many people, amusement arcades are remembered for the noise, flashing lights and excitement of family holidays.

Late in the evening, after most people had wandered home, the arcade remained brilliantly illuminated against the darkness. The machines continued to glow, promising one more game, while reflections spilled onto the pavement outside.

It wasn't simply about nostalgia. It was about those familiar places that quietly become part of our own stories. Places we rarely think about until something unexpectedly brings them back to us. Like much of my work, Insert Coin to Begin explores how artificial light can transform an ordinary building into something almost magical.