{"title":"Tigers","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe thylacine, Tasmania's lost marsupial, Australia's most haunting ghost, sits at the heart of Phil Hayes's most personal work. Across paintings, prints, and sculptures, Melbourne artist Phil Hayes returns again and again to the Tasmanian tiger not simply as an extinct animal, but as a powerful symbol of loss, myth, and the fragile relationship between nature and culture in the Australian psyche.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach work, whether on canvas, paper, or rendered in three dimensions, captures the thylacine with quiet intensity. A personal totem. A cautionary tale. A ghost story told across media.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOriginal works by Phil Hayes. Each piece is one of a kind.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"monument-bruny-island","title":"Monument, Bruny Island","description":"\u003cp\u003ePerched on a stark white plinth against the rolling green hills and the lighthouse of Bruny Island, the Thylacine stands as both a monument and a memory. Elevated like a relic, it becomes a symbol of reverence and regret — a reminder of what has been lost, set forever in Tasmania’s living landscape.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil Hayes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48562894504193,"sku":null,"price":899.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0810\/9273\/9329\/files\/monumentatbrunyisland.jpg?v=1776217576"},{"product_id":"portrait-of-a-tiger","title":"Portrait Of A Tiger","description":"\u003cp\u003eI painted this thylacine bathed in light to show its quiet strength. This work is about presence and loss, about what we choose not to see until it is too late.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil Hayes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48810606887169,"sku":null,"price":899.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0810\/9273\/9329\/files\/portraitoftiger.jpg?v=1779068113"},{"product_id":"portrait-of-a-thylacine","title":"Portrait Of A Thylacine","description":"\u003cp\u003eI painted this thylacine bathed in light to show its quiet strength. This work is about presence and loss, about what we chose not to see until it was too late.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil Hayes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48810607935745,"sku":null,"price":899.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0810\/9273\/9329\/files\/Portraitofathylacine.jpg?v=1779069045"},{"product_id":"the-bounty-years-3","title":"The Bounty Years 3","description":"\u003cp\u003eOn the right, a thylacine stands alert and illuminated, its striped form fading into darkness. On the left, a Martini–Henry rifle stands tall and cold, its presence ominous and historically precise. This was the rifle most commonly used during the peak of thylacine extermination in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Issued widely across the British Empire, the Martini–Henry found its way into the hands of colonial settlers and bounty hunters. From 1888 to 1909, the Tasmanian government offered a cash bounty—£1 per adult and 10 shillings per pup—for every thylacine killed. More than 2,000official payments were made, and the true toll was likely much higher.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil Hayes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48810623041793,"sku":null,"price":2999.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0810\/9273\/9329\/files\/thebountyyears.jpg?v=1779069229"},{"product_id":"as-one-they-saw","title":"As One, They Saw","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor years, I’ve been drawn to the thylacine, not just as a lost species, but as a lingering presence in our landscape and imagination. This work, As One, They Saw, is my attempt to bring together eight separate post-extinction sightings into one form, one body, one animal. Each panel represents a different witness account—fragmented, often doubted, yet persistent. None of them alone can prove the thylacine still exists, but together, they begin to feel whole. I lived and worked in Tasmania for years, and I know how strong the pull of this creature is. This piece is as much about the thylacine as it is about us and what we choose to remember, what we refuse to forget, and what we still hope might be true.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil Hayes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48810625138945,"sku":null,"price":6600.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0810\/9273\/9329\/files\/asonetheysaw.jpg?v=1779069769"},{"product_id":"benjamin","title":"Benjamin","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis work depicts Benjamin, the last known thylacine, who died in captivity in 1936. Painted behind a veil of chicken wire, he becomes both a memory and a warning. The wire symbolises confinement, a cage not just of metal, but of human neglect and forgetting. Benjamin snarls not in rage, but in resistance, a ghost of the wild we chose not to protect.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil Hayes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48810629726465,"sku":null,"price":5500.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0810\/9273\/9329\/files\/Benjamin.jpg?v=1779070325"},{"product_id":"monument-eaglehawk-neck","title":"Monument Eaglehawk Neck","description":"\u003cp\u003eSet against a vividly rendered Tasmanian coastline, the thylacine appears as a life-sized monument—both present and impossibly absent. Elevated on a plinth, it reads like a museum relic misplaced in the landscape it once inhabited. The work balances realism with quiet fiction, reflecting on extinction, human intervention, and the unsettling calm of imagining a creature that should no longer exist, yet still lingers in collective memory.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil Hayes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48810888003841,"sku":null,"price":3200.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0810\/9273\/9329\/files\/monumentateaglehawkneck.jpg?v=1779071362"},{"product_id":"the-pet","title":"The Pet, Print","description":"\u003cp\u003eBrunswick Street Gallery 2026 Small Works Art Prize\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSECOND PRIZE\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTHE PET\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePHIL HAYES\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBrunswick Street Gallery is pleased to announce the winner of Second Prize to Phil Hayes for their piece \u003cem\u003eThe Pet\u003c\/em\u003e, as selected by esteemed guest judge Myles Russell-Cook and the Judging Panel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOf this work, Myles Russell-Cook said in a statement:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“In second place, Phil Hayes’ \u003cem\u003eThe Pet\u003c\/em\u003e is an evocative painting that captivates the viewer at first glance. A male and female couple stand in 1970s clothing, in a scene which initially appears to be drawn from a family photograph. It is excellently painted in a hyper-real aesthetic, with the matte blue Australian sky and drought-scorched brown grass rendered in exceptional detail. We are immediately placed in time, with the 1973 LJ Holden Torana partially obscured by the couple, yet taking centre stage nonetheless. In the foreground, Hayes has seamlessly introduced a third figure, a Thylacine, known more colloquially as a Tasmanian Tiger.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe last Thylacine, named Benjamin, passed away in 1936 at the Hobart Zoo, and as we approach nearly one hundred years since his death, Hayes’ work offers a poignant reflection on both loss and memory. The anachronistic time traveller has been displaced, transforming this hyper-real scene into a surreal one. Despite its warmth, I was struck by a profound sense of melancholy in the work. The anatomically correct jaw either yawns or snarls; however, the warm and placid demeanour of the couple, paired with the title of the work (\u003cem\u003eThe Pet\u003c\/em\u003e), suggests a scene of domestic simplicity. There is no palpable aggression that one might associate with a carnivore showing its teeth; instead, the work’s strength lies in its blending of the mundane and the uncanny. The painting’s compositional arrangement and colour palette evoke references to Australian realist Jeffrey Smart; however, it is the fusion of realism with surrealism that underpins the work’s success.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCongratulations to Phil Hayes, awarded the Second Prize, as selected by Myles Russell-Cook and the judging panel.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil Hayes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48811218043137,"sku":null,"price":129.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0810\/9273\/9329\/files\/thepet_74d7c623-211d-47e0-b3a3-04a19e8f3cf5.jpg?v=1779073074"},{"product_id":"the-bounty-years","title":"The Bounty Years, Print","description":"\u003cp\u003eOn the right, a thylacine stands alert and illuminated, its striped form fading into darkness. On the left, a Martini–Henry rifle stands tall and cold, its presence ominous and historically precise. This was the rifle most commonly used during the peak of thylacine extermination in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Issued widely across the British Empire, the Martini–Henry found its way into the hands of colonial settlers and bounty hunters. From 1888 to 1909, the Tasmanian government offered a cash bounty—£1 per adult and 10 shillings per pup—for every thylacine killed. More than 2,000 official payments were made, and the true toll was likely much higher.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil Hayes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48811314610433,"sku":null,"price":159.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0810\/9273\/9329\/files\/thebountyyears_526600ba-0b21-4429-ae77-f94c9ce86504.jpg?v=1779073800"},{"product_id":"benjamin-1","title":"Benjamin","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis work depicts \u003cem\u003eBenjamin\u003c\/em\u003e, the last known thylacine, who died in captivity in 1936. The wire symbolises confinement, a cage not just of metal, but of human neglect and forgetting. \u003cem\u003eBenjamin\u003c\/em\u003e snarls not in rage, but in resistance, a ghost of the wild we chose not to protect.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil Hayes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48811348721921,"sku":null,"price":699.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0810\/9273\/9329\/files\/Benjamin1.jpg?v=1779074087"},{"product_id":"roaring-tiger","title":"Roaring Tiger","description":"\u003cp\u003eA hand-painted sculptural thylacine captured mid-call on a miniature arid landscape. Part model, part memorial, the work reflects on extinction, representation, and the tension between natural history and imagination.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil Hayes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48811363008769,"sku":null,"price":499.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0810\/9273\/9329\/files\/roaringtiger2.jpg?v=1779074297"},{"product_id":"roaring-tiger-on-path","title":"Roaring Tiger On Path","description":"\u003cp\u003eA hand-painted sculptural thylacine captured mid-call on a miniature arid landscape. Part model, part memorial, the work reflects on extinction, representation, and the tension between natural history and imagination.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil Hayes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48811373461761,"sku":null,"price":499.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0810\/9273\/9329\/files\/roaringtigeronpath.jpg?v=1779074420"},{"product_id":"tiger","title":"Tiger","description":"\u003cp\u003eA hand-painted sculptured thylacine in a calm, watchful pose on a minimal landscape base. Part artefact, part memory, the piece plays with extinction and nostalgia—an imagined presence caught somewhere between fact, fiction, and feeling.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil Hayes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48811386962177,"sku":null,"price":499.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0810\/9273\/9329\/files\/tiger1.jpg?v=1779074556"},{"product_id":"tiger-in-dark-landscape","title":"Tiger in Dark Landscape","description":"\u003cp\u003eA hand-painted sculptured thylacine in a calm, watchful pose on a minimal landscape base. Part artefact, part memory, the piece plays with extinction and nostalgia—an imagined presence caught somewhere between fact, fiction, and feeling.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil Hayes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48811409998081,"sku":null,"price":499.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0810\/9273\/9329\/files\/tigerindarklanscape4.jpg?v=1779074675"},{"product_id":"roaring-tiger-on-the-beach","title":"Roaring Tiger on The Beach","description":"\u003cp\u003eA hand-painted sculptural thylacine captured mid-call on a miniature arid landscape. Part model, part memorial, the work reflects on extinction, representation, and the tension between natural history and imagination.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil Hayes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48811427889409,"sku":null,"price":499.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0810\/9273\/9329\/files\/roaringtigeronbeach.jpg?v=1779074787"},{"product_id":"thylacine-in-landscape","title":"Thylacine In Landscape","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, remains one of the most iconic and enigmatic creatures in history. European settlers, both captivated and intimidated by the animal, launched relentless hunting campaigns that ultimately pushed the species to the brink of extinction. Within a mere century of European arrival, the thylacine had almost vanished entirely. If it had managed to endure, could it survive and flourish in the modern world?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil Hayes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48811546444033,"sku":null,"price":499.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0810\/9273\/9329\/files\/thylacineinlandscape30x40cm.jpg?v=1779075646"},{"product_id":"the-guardians-1","title":"The Guardians","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-AU\"\u003eJust left the car with the Tigers while we hit the surf. Lowkey better security than central locking — they’re basically giant striped dogs with attitude\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil Hayes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49272019484929,"sku":null,"price":890.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0810\/9273\/9329\/files\/the_Guardians_5a5518ad-f850-49ec-8e4e-0ffed8beaa16.jpg?v=1781766316"},{"product_id":"the-pet-3","title":"The Pet 2","description":"\u003cp\u003eRather than presenting the Tasmanian Tiger as a lost or mythical creature, Hayes reframes it as an ordinary household companion, as commonplace as a family dog. The work quietly imagines an alternate Australia in which extinction never occurred, transforming the Thylacine from a national ghost into part of everyday life. This subtle shift gives the painting its emotional resonance, inviting viewers to reflect on loss, memory, and the fragile line between nostalgia and national myth.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil Hayes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49272022008065,"sku":null,"price":890.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0810\/9273\/9329\/files\/the_pet_2_79fcf734-4f86-4fc1-a460-07b31351bc7c.jpg?v=1781766473"},{"product_id":"sandman-1","title":"Sandman","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-AU\"\u003eIn this nostalgic reimagining of 1970s Australian surf culture, Phil Hayes presents the Tasmanian Tiger not as an extinct curiosity, but as an everyday companion. Reclining casually in the back of a bright yellow Holden Sandman, a young woman shares the space with a domesticated Thylacine, rendered with the same familiarity as a family dog. Through soft hyper-realism and strong period detail, Hayes imagines an alternate Australia where the Thylacine survived and became embedded within ordinary suburban life, transforming a symbol of extinction into one of companionship and cultural identity.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil Hayes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49272022335745,"sku":null,"price":890.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0810\/9273\/9329\/files\/sandman_87cd0c70-8e02-42e1-a136-f298688c5cd0.jpg?v=1781766665"}],"url":"https:\/\/philhayesart.com\/collections\/tigers.oembed","provider":"Phil Hayes","version":"1.0","type":"link"}