Rhythmic Disturbance was developed for my capstone project while completing my undergraduate degree at RMIT University in 2022. This project was a response to my lived experience of traumatic grief following the sudden death of my cousin in 2020. This shocking incident attracted an enormous amount of media and public attention and took place during the height of the of the COVID-19 lockdowns; exacerbating isolation and limiting access to usual grieving rituals. The private grieving process continued to be repeatedly interrupted due to relentless media coverage of court proceedings related to the incident.

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Exhibited:

Fine Art Graduate Exhibition (2022) RMIT University School of Art Melbourne VIC. 

Inter-print-ations (2024) Rubicon Gallery Melbourne VIC.

Melbourne experienced some of the harshest COVID lockdown restrictions in the world, including mandatory masks, specified reasons to leave your home, two hours maximum to be outside, a nightly curfew, no visitors, and a five kilometre travel limit. It was an isolating and uncertain time, where rules were changed and enforced with little warning. During this period, I was unable to use the print studio. I slowed my practice and experimented with eco-printing. I created this suite of eco-prints by collecting plants within five kilometres of my home, scavenging rusty materials (iron oxide) and vegetable scraps from my kitchen (onion and avocado skins). The natural dyes and embossing represent how our bodies absorb and hold the evidence of the environment we exist within. The screenprinted dancer dips in and out of the non-linear journey.   

The meaning of a web depends upon perspective. For the spider, it is home, a place of safety and sustenance. For the prey, it is a trap, a place of entanglement and danger. Thirty seven eco-printed puppets, each representing one week of Melbourne's COVID lockdowns, hang in suspended animation in the web of my home. Am I safe or am I trapped? Each work was printed using the natural dyes and tannins from plants collected within the five kilometre radius of my home, which was the limit of travel during the height of the restrictions.    

In reference to the lyrics of Leonard Cohen and Rumi's poetry, 'the wound is where the light enters,' this ephemeral installation seeks hope where there has been suffering and destruction. This site specific work responds to the impact of colonisation on the Australian bushland, particularly in Warburton (Victoria), where much of the natural eucalyptus was cleared in the 1930s and replaced with the uniformity of European tree plantations. The area now known for the redwood forest. The stark white of the raw clay sits ghostly amongst the natural browns and greens. The eucalyptus matter repels the clay, cracking and falling away. Where there is a crack, there is an opportunity for repentance and resurrection. ​

When we experience something traumatic, it changes us. New growth, however awkward and painful, starts to emerge from within. The experience can create uncertainty, anxiety, vulnerability. The seedling unfurls, representative of the lifecycle; the inevitable ebbs and flows. 

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Exhibited (selected work):

Home is where your heart is (2021) Mother Melbourne, Northcote VIC.

In the age of technological advancements, the media has replaced the theatrics of public trials and executions. When a victim of crime is exposed to their own story in the media, they have higher levels of negative responses, such as sadness, fear, anger and feeling exposed. These portraits were repeatedly glitched and distorted in reference to the media's relentless interference. 

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Exhibited:

Surface Light Duration (2023) Kindred Cameras, Docklands VIC.

Coercive control is a high risk factor for domestic homicide, yet it continues to be less identified or understood when compared to physical abuse. The artist used torn photographs of her 16-year-old self, layered with drawn portraits of her adult self. This series compels the viewer to look closer, to see layered complexities; to understand that what is presented outwardly, is not necessarily what lies beneath the surface.

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Exhibited:

Nostalgia (2022) A. BCH Gallery, Melbourne VIC.

​Bearing Traces (2019) Murwillumbah Tafe, Murwillumbah NSW.