artrium

Untitled – Rock and Blanket, 2024

This work is part of an ongoing series exploring the concept of life and humanity, focusing on the essential human need for connection, reflection, and healing. Untitled – Rock and Blanket (2024), composed of copper, wool blanket, Mallee limestone, and Murray River salt, examines the trials and tribulations of existence—growth, emotion, conflict, and mortality—while emphasising the dual forces of building and healing. Rooted in the landscapes and memories of the Mallee region, the work deepens the dialogue between land, self, and humanity. The use of materials like copper, which oxidises over time, symbolises humanity's small yet impactful role within the ecosystem, highlighting the tension between human development and environmental exploitation. The inclusion of saltwater preserves the fabric and encasing, reinforcing themes of healing and growth as the work evolves over the period it is displayed.

 Chubby Bunny in A Box, 2024

As an arts educator (visual arts teacher Primary School) I exhibit each year in the Art Directions exhibition showcasing arts educators of Sunraysia. In 2024 I exhibited “Chubby Bunny in A Box” which was a a fluid acrylic paint drip plastic bunny which begged the question…. What is art? To encourage engagement from viewers I propose to exhibit Chubby Bunny and include a QR code that can be accessed with the question ….Is this art? Viewers can answer via the QR code, and the results will be collated, then displayed with Chubby Bunny at the end of the display time.

 Foreign, 2025

A sculptural work that arose from a small doll excavated from beneath an Elm tree in the backyard of the family home with the word ‘foreign’ stamped into its back. It seemed like a sign or a message that I attributed to the way we all seek connection to country and language unearthed and belonging to our own intimate geographies. 

 Not all Superheroes Wear Capes, 2025

Not All Superheroes Wear Capes reimagines the archetypal superhero, stripping away the rigid symbols of masculinity to explore gender fluidity, transformation, and evolving identity. By painting Superman white and embellishing him with florals, the work subverts traditional ideals of heroism and strength, inviting a conversation about the shifting nature of masculinity and the dissolution of outdated gender constructs.

This multidisciplinary work examines the intersecting milestones of childhood, masculinity, domesticity, and sexuality. Through the lens of boy/manhood, it interrogates how masculinity is both shaped by and reflected within domestic spaces. By recontextualising a familiar symbol and removing gendered associations—such as stereotypical colours and childhood iconography—the work renders identity mutable, allowing new interpretations to emerge.

Not All Superheroes Wear Capes confronts the socio-political tensions of contemporary gender discourse from a queer perspective. It challenges the historically fraught relationship between masculinity and rationality, deconstructing rigid structures and proposing a more fluid, inclusive understanding of identity.

Fruit Bowl, 2025

This work focusses on my memories of growing up on a hobby farm in Nichols Point, Victoria.

Gone are the days of drying fruit on racks. However, it was commonplace when I was growing up. When there were family fruit properties known a “blocks”.

I, like my siblings, was involved in the entire process of producing dried sultanas. Pruning vines on in the icy, wintery mornings. Helping with the watering of the vines and then in the hot summer months, driving the red Ferguson tractor or picking the grapes into the container known as “dip tins”.

It was hard work - work that I never became accustomed to. I was often found by my Mum cutting out patterns in the vine leaves or making little sculptures from the rich, red loam. I had determined that a picker’s knife was not only for picking grapes!

I loved the morning and afternoon teas. Often, they consisted of freshly made tomato sandwiches, billy tea and a homemade slice or jam drop biscuits.

I loved being able to be cool off for a swim in the adjacent irrigation channel. I would sneak over to our neighbour’s farm and pinch some of the succulent, juicy oranges on display.

I loved the end of season. Once the grapes had dried into sweet, dried up morsels they would be shaken down from the drying racks, raked and laid on the black plastic several metre long sheets to soak up the sun in the day.

At night, they would be blanketed from the night air with bricks. The sultanas were then placed  into wooden  “sweat” boxes awaiting collection to be weighed and packed at the Mildura Co-operative Fruit Company.

For me, the primary memories provoke a smell of fresh fruit- sprinklers making their gentle news and creating a space. Big blue skies. Rust and laughter.