For Australian artist William MacKinnon, the present state of our psyche manifests in how we envisage our environment – an observation that powers the brooding contrasts and otherworldly quality of the psychological landscapes for which he is known. Based between Melbourne, Ibiza and the UK, his work enables the incongruous nature of human emotions to play out on canvas, where fine-tuned perspective is animated by loaded brushstrokes and impulsive application.

Shot in and around his studio in the north of Ibiza, MacKinnon’s art and practice become the subject of an intimate documentary, directed by filmmaker Felipe Sanguinetti. Capturing the conflict and instinctual approach that serves as the backbone of his work, the film navigates the complex interplay of feelings given life through his paintings – and the powerlessness of not knowing the direction a piece might take.

Connecting with his subject through his own experience of painting, Sanguinetti employs lighting effects and angles to immerse the viewer in the artist’s world, creating a sense of engaging with the canvas as if through MacKinnon’s lens. By reflecting the ever-shifting consciousness through which his paintings materialize, MacKinnon demonstrates the dialogue between the mind’s inner workings and the artist’s medium, as a tool for conducting experiments in what he cannot control.