Connecting through conversations of nature’s shared plights and virtues

Inspired by my love of animals, I use ink, oils and watercolours to create detailed, visual narratives that explore the relationships between animals and their habitats. My style is a combination of colourful, naturalist work with quirky compositions that pair species who don’t coexist or share habitats. I invite viewers to ask why the rules of land, air and sea no longer apply, and wonder why fish happily swim through the antlers of a bongo antelope and butterflies flutter around a moray eel. As a dedicated artist, I’ve spent countless hours studying animals in museums, using the taxidermic displays to understand and convey their forms. However, it wasn’t until I started work with RSPCA that my experience with animal welfare gave me a new perspective. Now, fuelled by this understanding, I combine my formal education in painting, screen and printmaking to plan each composition, purposefully breaking the rules of taxonomic categorisation. In doing so, my work draws attention to the interconnectedness between species and invites viewers to see how they are being forced to adapt in rapidly changing ecosystems, or risk extinction. These pairings also invite people to engage in the character and personality of the individual animals, challenging them to see them as more than just objects to be studied and classified. Aware that much of Australia’s rich biodiversity is found exclusively on this continent, and that we have one of the highest rates of extinction globally, my next series will inspire people to learn more about our vulnerable native animals and do more to protect them. My quirky, naturalist portrayals preserve and highlight the beauty and diversity of animals right in our backyards, asking us to imagine if the kookaburra, the koala, or wallaby were lost to us forever.  
Education

Bachelor of Visual Art with Honours Griffith University, Qld College of Art | 1997

Studied Printmaking at the Brisbane Institute of Art | 1993

Awards, Grants and Residencies

Artist in Residence, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary | 2020

Regional Arts Fund, Regional Arts Australia, Flying Arts Alliance | 2020

Finalist, Lethbridge 20000 Small Scale Art Award | 2020

Regional Arts Development Fund, Arts QLD and Logan Arts Council, Australia | 2020

BEMAC Creative Booster Pack | 2020

Liquitex Sponsor Prize, Petite Pieces, Aspire Gallery | 2020

Finalist, The Naracoorte National Art Prize | 2019

Melville Heysom Memorial Award | 1998

Asia Artslink Studio Residency, Manila Philippines | 1997

Karl and Gertrude Langer Memorial Award | 1996

Solo Exhibitions

Urban Menagerie, Logan Art Gallery, Logan | Proposed for 2021

Anthropomorphism, The Art Factory Gallery, South Brisbane | 2007

Noah’s Inventory, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane | 1997

Group Exhibitions

Take Flight, The Old Auction House , Kyneton Victoria | 2020

Wandering with the Wild, (Online) Aspire Gallery, Brisbane | 2020

Lethbridge 20000 Small Scale works exhibition, (Online) Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane | 2020

All Creatures and Wild Things, RQAS, Petrie Terrace Gallery, Brisbane | 2020

QWASI- International Animals in Art, Logan Art Gallery, Logan | 2020

Petite Pieces, Aspire Gallery, Paddington, Brisbane | 2020

Creative Relief, Aurecon Building, Brisbane | 2020

Bump in the Night, The Old Auction House, Kyneton, Victoria | 2019

The Naracoorte National Art Prize, Naracoorte, South Australia | 2019

Diminutive, The Old Auction House, Kyneton, Victoria | 2019

Petite Pieces, Aspire Gallery, Paddington | 2019

Nundah Art Show, Nundah Festival, Brisbane | 2018

Ipswich Art Awards, Ipswich | 2018

RAW Showcase, The MET, Brisbane | 2018

Fresh Cut, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane | 1997

Toe-Hold, Metro Arts, Brisbane | 1997

Materials, QCA Gallery, Brisbane | 1996

Solitary Confinement, Boggo Road Gaol, (co-curated) | 1996

 

Recent Promotions on my Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary Residency

Our Logan Magazine, June 2020 | Read Here

Chanel 7 News (Gold Coast), October 23 2020 | Watch Here

Jimboomba Times, October 28 2020 | Read Here

 

Available Works

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Recently Sold Works

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