Impossible

02 / Know

Know the Story

I already had proof standing in the garden.

Impossible comes from carving Tāne Mahuta, moving him north in pieces and rebuilding him with Sharna in our Brisbane garden. When I was later told I could not make music, he was already standing there as my answer.

How the impossible got here

The idea began with the wonder I carried from Disneyland’s Enchanted Tiki Room. Years later, when a cypress died in our Bendigo yard, I stopped the arborist before he removed the last three meters. I could see Tāne Mahuta inside it. I had never attempted anything like it, but I studied, practiced and worked until the guardian emerged. Other people’s doubt became fuel.

Tāne watched over the Bendigo garden for a year before life moved us north. Leaving him was never an option, so we cut him into four massive sections and stored him at my parents’ home in Melbourne while Sharna and I moved through rentals.

When we finally found our Brisbane home, the four pieces were divided into twelve. Sharna and I carried them up the side of the house one section a day. The final piece balanced on a ladder while I lifted and shouted, ‘Push!’ Sharna was already pushing with everything she had. Somehow we got it into place.

I spent the next week sealing, sanding and staining until the damage disappeared and Tāne stood whole again. This happened while we were also carrying the grief of losing Ned, who had watched the original carving take shape. Rebuilding could not repair that loss, but it gave us the next piece, seam and day to face.

When people later told me I could not make music, I only had to look into the garden. Tāne reminded me that impossible may describe the obstacle, but it does not decide how I respond.

A dead tree became a guardian, crossed Australia in pieces and stood again. The beginning of a story does not determine its ending. What matters is where you take it.

03 / Feel

Feel the Soul

What I want you to feel

Impossible is not a verdict. It is the condition you meet before deciding what you are willing to carry, rebuild and finish.