Heart Place a Group Exhibition
Colleen Southwell - paper; Skye Bragg - silver; Georgia Bragg - photography; Maggie Mackellar - words.
Four artists with a shared history of common ground explore connection to place, the concept of feeling at one with a landscape, and the ways these bring us together.
Through their works in paper, silver and photography, and woven with the written word, the artists each interpret the land and nature as the core of belonging. The exhibition ponders vast landscapes with the minutiae of life they nurture, and the way these are carried in our identities and personal stories.
Colleen Southwell
Delicate, ethereal, and finely detailed, Colleen’s works encourage the onlooker to slow, look closely, engage the imagination and connect with the cycle of life around us. Her meticulous art-making process requires her to do the same.
Drawing on a background in horticulture and landscape design, Colleen’s unique art practice is a celebration of nature, both wild and cultivated.
Her delicate three-dimensional paper sculpture and mixed media works are reminiscent of herbarium, entomology and ornithology specimens. Each finely drawn, painted and assembled piece is mounted onto paper using entomology pins, giving the appearance of floating. The delicate nature of the works and transient play of shadow signifies the fragility of the subject.
Colleen’s work is held in private collections in Australia and overseas, including the prestigious The Fifth collection in New York.
Skye Bragg
Skye’s affinity with nature started from a very young age, growing up on a mixed farming property near Cudal in Central NSW. She spent hours catching lizards, tadpoles, or anything that remained still for long enough and her room was filled with an endless stream of found treasures, which was why her Dad nicknamed her the bowerbird!
Skye began silversmithing in her last two years at boarding school through Sturt in the southern Highlands. She later developed her skills at the McGregor arts Schools through the tutelage of jewellers Rex Steel Merten, Diane Appleby and Gerhard Herbst. She learnt the art of organic casting with Bob Richardson which is now a large part of her practice.
Skye has been part of many group exhibitions in NSW and QLD including Jewels on Queen, Woollahra and her piece “Organic Wrap” was a finalist in the 2018 Pro Hart Outback Art prize.
Skye teaches one day silversmithing workshops throughout NSW and QLD in rural and often remote communities.
Skye’s passion for creating unique handcrafted jewellery pieces comes from the inspiration she draws from her surroundings around her studio in Central NSW. Her style has been developed by using the natural elements that she observes and collects in her daily life, photographing, sketching and making paper forms before texturing, forming and forging metal - predominately sterling silver - to create distinctive and recognisable wearable pieces inspired by the Australian landscape.
Having lived on properties surrounding Bourke in Western NSW for 27 years on the banks of the Darling river, Skye found inspiration in the natural beauty of the area.
“My creations are inspired by the texture of a red gum, the ripples in the sand, and the form of a gumnut or seed pod.”
Skye recently moved to central NSW, where she now enjoys a different skyline view, the beautiful Herveys Range. Despite the change in scenery, her sentiment for nature-inspired jewellery remains strong. Skye now draws new inspiration from within these ranges and across the plains, from the lines of a squiggly gum to the rolling forms of the ranges.
Georgia Bragg
Georgia Bragg is a photographer based in Central Western NSW, whose work is a testament to her passion for the Australian landscape and people. Georgia grew up on a sheep station at Bourke in Western NSW, where her love for photography began surrounded by vast flood plains, rich red clay pans, and winding river bends - her connection to the land and its people runs deep. Through her lens, Georgia captures the raw and rugged beauty of regional and rural Australia, as well as the resilience and spirit of its people. Her work has been proudly published in magazines including RM Williams Outback Magazine and Bush Journal, as well as used as promotional images across the Akubra Hats website. Georgia completed a bachelor's degree in Creative Industries specialising in Visual Arts and Design in 2023, and continues to photograph the people and places of regional NSW.
Georgia’s photography holds a strong essence of recognising the beauty of natural Australia; from native birds and plants to capturing the ever-changing landscapes. Her passion for regional and rural NSW is the backbone of what she does. Georgia grew up on a sheep station near Bourke in western NSW and was in constant awe of the natural beauty that surrounded her; the Darling River, the endless floodplains, and unique birdlife all became part of her and her story. As time moved on she ventured into different areas of regional NSW, all where she found the beauty of natural Australia and photographed it. Georgia’s heart isn't just tied to a place; it's tied to elements that make up these places. From redgums to kookaburras, to mountain ranges and lakes, these elements have formed a lifelong bond for her and provide immeasurable inspiration for her photography.
Maggie Mackellar
Maggie Mackellar is an historian and writer who has published two books on the history of settlement in Australia and Canada and three memoirs, When It Rains, How To Get There and Graft. When it Rains won the Peter Blazey Fellowship and was shortlisted for the 2010 Queensland Premier's Non Fiction Award, The Victorian Premier's Non Fiction Award and 2010 The Age Book of the Year. Graft has been longlisted for the 2024 Stella Prize. Maggie lives on the east coast of Tasmania with her partner and two children. She runs the much-loved newsletter The Sit Spot. GRAFT is her latest book.