Material Intelligence

PRIMROSE PARK ART & CRAFT CENTRE INC - PPACCI

Material Intelligence exhibition

List of Works and Artists' Statements

1. Alessandra Gottlieb, Bush Turkey Dream

147 x 87 cm, mixed media, NFS

My work shows how a simple piece of material can be transformed with the use of mordanting techniques and dyes into a three-dimensional piece of art.

Artist’s Statement: Alessandra Gottlieb is a textile artist who began working seriously after retiring in 2019 from her medical profession. Having grown up in Europe she is fascinated and inspired by the extraordinary variety and beauty of the Australian flora and landscape. In her works she tries to capture the Australian botanical species and geography through colour texture scale and design. Her skills and knowledge are from different textile disciplines including wet felting, eco printing, natural dyeing and embroidery. My preoccupation in textile art concerns the natural world and its enormous variety of textures, shapes & colours. My work is a distillation of these elements.

2. Sydney Pemberton, After the Fires

32 x 45 x 5 cm, paper, wood, collage, $450

"Pilirin" the mythological Aboriginal Fire god sits at the base of the destruction. Exploring the forces of nature both land and psyche. The tension between darkness and light, destruction and rebirth. Working with paper although fragile, I have created delicate yet forceful marks. Power is in regeneration: new life will emerge and give hope for the future.

Artist’s Statement: Sydney has been an active member of Primrose Paper Arts for 8 years. She has been a full-time artist since retiring 10 years ago. Her art practice covers print making, collage, acrylic painting, sculptures from wire and paper. She loves working with colour and her artworks include storytelling. Her subjects are of the natural world, the environment and social commentary.

3. Lydia Fegan, Tree of Life

30 x 38 cm, mixed media on paper, NFS

Paper is used in many ways to express and communicate thoughts, ideas and feelings. Paper can tell our stories, and it is stories that sustain us and create universal myths. Paper comes from trees. Trees give life to plants and birds. This print is a playful way to evoke these feelings through a coded meaning that we all share without having to use words.

Artist’s Statement: I have a long-standing interest in play and art therapies so after retiring as a psychologist it was natural for me to turn to printmaking as another art form, and associated arts of papermaking, collage. I have been a member of Warringah Printmakers and Primrose Paper Arts for a long time and have participated in group exhibitions with both groups over time.

4. Lydia Fegan, Fragments of a Life

37 x 42 x 4 cm, handmade paper, digitised and handmade prints, NFS

Paper has been used for many centuries as a vehicle for recording and saving cultural, religious and historical material. Handmade paper gives a sense of the many people that have tried to find ways to express their own personal stories and preserve them over time.

5. Jenny Selinger, Tapestry for Friends

28 x 36 cm, paper, ink, canvas, thread, $250

The text for this artwork comes from a poem by a colleague of mine from long ago by the same name. Her work describes the materiality of friendship, and this is woven into my lettering and needlework

Artist’s Statement: Calligraphy makes me happy. Hours spent manipulating pen, paper, ink to create new things - there is nothing like it.

6. Elaine Whitton, Genesis 1:1

46 x 62 cm, gouache, 23 ct gold leaf on papyrus, $300

The properties of the materials that I have used, gouache and gold enabled me to express what I want to say in artistic form.

Artist’s Statement: I am a calligraphic artist with a background in textiles, working across diverse formats, exploring a variety of media. By using stitch or pen on paper and fabric, I create a fusion between different materials. Working with formats such as wall pieces, books and sculptural objects, enables me to approach each artwork from a different perspective and to use a variety of techniques and media.

The artists Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee have inspired my art practice and Kandinsky’s statements, in particular: “Form itself, even if completely abstract, has its own inner sound.”

7. Cathie Griffith, The Farm

65 x 95 x 4 cm, fabric, thread, ink and paint, $750

As a child, I lived on a property in the central west of New South Wales. Our family connection to the land spanned generations and every area on our farm had a special name that our family members knew. This is a view of that property from above, recalling the landmarks that were home to me. Each of those special places have been marked in this work by a piece of fabric that has been hand dyed or painted and stitched. Perhaps only I have the knowledge to interpret what each piece of fabric signifies. Can you decipher the map?

Artist’s Statement: I am a maker working with a wide variety of media which often includes fibre. I select media that best expresses the idea I have for each artwork. Recycling objects and materials that others have discarded is fundamental to my practice. I enjoy the challenge of combining a variety of materials to make something useful or beautiful. Is it the material that guides my making or is it the idea or concept that sends me looking for materials to bring the idea to fruition? A little of both… My work practice may combine drawing, print making, painting, collage, construction and stitch.

8. Lexie Arlington, Residue in Memory

20 x 20 cm, tea bags, coffee grounds, paper, $145

My work explores Material Intelligence - the inherent knowledge, memory and expressive potential embedded within everyday materials that may be overlooked. Each carries its own history- tea bags are not simply paper -they bear the traces of ritual, stain, softened fibres and the slow imprint of steeping. The tissue paper is transformed by coffee and colour. Hand painted Japanese papers record touch, pigment and craft. My collages become a way of listening, a way to let these materials converse. I layer, arrange and juxtapose.

Artist’s Statement: Lexie is a professional calligrapher, lettering artist, and tutor with over 35 years of experience. She has taught at TAFE, community groups, and workshops interstate and overseas sharing her deep knowledge of traditional and contemporary lettering arts. She is passionate about gestural mark-making and collage using hand painted Japanese papers and mixed media. Lexie brings an expressive, experimental approach to her work while honouring the art’s rich heritage. Her works have been featured in both local and international publications, reflecting a career dedicated to artistry, teaching, and creative exploration.

9. Lexie Arlington, Whisper in the Fibres

0.5 x 23 cm, Japanese papers, $175

Japanese papers guide my collage practice. - some hand painted. Hand painted Japanese papers hold pigment differently, responding to the paper’s own sensibility and absorption properties. Japanese papers embody centuries of craft knowledge, and an intelligence born of making and transformation. Through layering, tearing and painting, I use these materials to create a quiet dialogue. By honouring the intelligence of these materials, I aim to create works that are not only visually layered but materially honest.

10. Lexie Arlington, Translucence

40 x 20 cm, tea bags, coffee grounds, tissue paper, bookbinding mull, acrylic ink, $195

My work using collage explores Material Intelligence-The capacity of materials to carry memory and rituals. Using tea bags, coffee stained and coloured tissue paper and gestural mark making. By layering and tearing these everyday materials I create a collage where the medium itself shapes the outcome. Tea bags are softened and tinted by infusion, and the fragile tissue paper is transformed by the slow steeping of coffee grounds encased within it. Each fragment carries traces of its former life. The surfaces are altered by the unpredictable spread of the stains. The stains, fibres and textures created reveal a collaboration of these materials for the viewers.

11. Kirsten Jakobsen, Tea with Kosuth

20 x 33 x 20 cm, cotton, rayon and polyester thread, $175

Joseph Kosuth is a conceptual artist, whose work explores the meaning and nature of art, language and philosophy. His works span over 50 years and 170 exhibitions worldwide, and he is perhaps best known for ‘One and Three Chairs’ (reflecting on language, meaning and perception), which would be well worth a deep discussion over a cup of tea.

Artist’s Statement: Kirsten likes to play with various techniques in textiles but is also not averse to engaging in dialogue at the intersection of philosophy, semantics, linguistics and reality.

12. Cathie Griffith, Travel Journal

22 x 22 3 cm, handmade and commercial paper, fabric and thread, NFS

I love to travel. For each new trip I prepare a journal to record the sights and experiences of the places we visit. No trip is complete without writing and drawing about everything around us and everyone we meet.
My journal is a place to collect memorabilia from each place we stay and record the memories of the amazing people we connect with as we move from place to place. Our travel journals crystallise our experiences, allowing us to recollect our adventures clearly in the future.

13. Elaine Whitton, Inside out/outside in

20 x 20 cm, handmade Korean paper, thread, $80

The properties of the materials that I have used, paper and thread enabled me to express what I want to say in an artistic form.

The artists Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee have inspired my art practice and Kandinsky’s statements, in particular: “Form itself, even if completely abstract, has its own inner sound.”

14. Suzanne Marks, Calligram

15 x 20 cm, watercolour, Sumi ink on paper and horsehair, NFS

Use of organic material in developing the work.

Artist’s Statement: I am a member of the Australian Society of Calligraphers (ASC). Although I have been a calligrapher for many years, since joining the ASC I have been exposed to learning new types of writing techniques and making artwork out of the alphabet.

15. Alison Muir, Groundwater

21 x 15 x 15 cm, paper, ink, thread, $100

Generally, my work is about 'water'; using my hands in an alternative way to dig out the soaked paper material suggested a book. The book could take the viewer into the depths of underground topography and how water can become polluted even out of sight!

Artist’s Statement: Trained as a commercial Interior Designer, Muir developed a fused applique technique to impart messages in 2-dimensional textile works. Over 80 works about fresh and salt water have been exhibited internationally and nationally. In "Fathoming the depths", Muir's Master of Design Hons exhibition, textile works were 3 dimensional and larger than human scale. Scale became a fascination for Muir, and a series of small, felted bowls have been made that tell stories about her local environment. These works use natural dyes on natural fabrics and continue to impart messages about the environment and water, often political and always passionate.

16. Lydia Fegan, A Migrant Journey: Part 1

12 x 30 x 8 cm, paper and mixed media, NFS

Paper has been used over many centuries as a way to record cultural and historical memories. Its tactile and visual properties make it the perfect format for the expression of personal, intimate thoughts and memories. its malleability allows for the expression of the flow of time in the form of the concertina book.

17. Jan Hook, Bowerbird

16 x 12 cm, envelopes, cardboard, paint, thread, NFS

With a couple of simple and everyday materials, my Bowerbird book evolved thanks to Angela Liddy who demonstrated how to put these materials together resulting in a clever book. I’ve used black envelopes, black paper, cardboard, acrylic paint, embroidery cotton, beads, and a button. The title, Bowerbird, came to me as I was putting it together. The iridescent blue paint was the trigger leading to the blue finishing touches. The title also refers to the fact that you can collect and store personal keepsakes inside the envelopes.

Artist’s Statement: Originally from Warrandyte, Victoria, she moved with her family to Sydney in the late 1970s. She worked for Better Homes & Gardens for 10 years, creating craft works and styling the photographs for the magazine. Jan has been a maker since early childhood. Now in her retirement, she enjoys painting in oil, watercolour and acrylic, basketry, bookmaking, collage, gel printing, embroidery, knitting, crochet, and gardening. She exhibits with the Basketmakers of NSW, Primrose Paper Arts, the Australian Society of Miniature Arts, the Mosman Art Society and the Mosman Art Gallery’s Artists of Mosman exhibitions.

18. Frances Ergen, Network

24 x 17 cm, silk tie tabs, $35

Silk tie tabs used to secure neckties into place have been woven together to form their own new network, totally transforming their original use.

Artist’s Statement: I have been involved in textiles for decades, creating, advising & teaching in a multitude of areas. I was able to pursue postgraduate research into ancient and traditional textiles in Japan followed by years based in Turkey studying vintage fabric & costume before returning to Sydney 3 years ago.

19. Jane Theau, Ember

13 x 13 x 12 cm, horsehair and copper wire, NFS

The development of weaving is inextricably tied to the development of animal intelligence (human, bird and other animals) and to the evolution of societies. This object has no evolutionary value but was made with material intelligence!

Artist’s Statement: My art practice encompasses sculpture and installation, curation, and the facilitation of community art projects. Embedded within it is a focus on environmental subjects and a commitment to working only with natural or repurposed materials. I enjoy working with the permanence of bronze as much as the fleeting nature of performance and I focus particularly on that most tactile of media: textiles. The relationship between textiles and tactility is a mainstay of my practice and was the subject of my doctoral research.

20. Cleo Higgins, Space & Density

30 x 21 x 5.5 cm, $265

Threads can be stitches, they can be material of light or heavy weight, which can utilise the play of space and density. Stitches can be drawn into mesh; fibres can be mashed into felt. Threads can be drawn into patterns of colour and texture on sheer fabric or densely stitched to create an almost tapestry-like new fabric. I have considered the concept of Material Intelligence as the elements of fibres and thread and their astounding versatility. Intelligence is demonstrated in the fibre’s versatility, the user’s imagination, and the viewer’s interpretation. I welcome yours.

Artist’s Statement: Cleo graduated with a Bachelor of Design in Fashion & Textiles (1st Class Hons) from UTS and worked as a Textile Designer with Edward Li Textiles, selling original textile designs in Sydney, Melbourne and New York. She taught printing, dyeing, felting, sewing classes and workshops in textile embellishment at Ku-Ring-Gai Art Centre, Sydney Community College and for groups outside Sydney before taking roles in clothing production and later in Human Resources. Returning to the joy of textiles and free motion embroidery, Cleo is researching and exploring modern meanings of textiles: the history of practicality, identity, secret message, declaration, adornment, celebration, status, and burden.

21. Gail Westcott, Winton Billabong

21 x 35 x 6 cm, box tray, paint, NFS

I have used a repurposed box tray, recycled from a gift - a material I have rarely used but will do again.

Artist’s Statement: Gail paints with Artists in The Park group and uses acrylics, oils & watercolour. Recent classes with Anna-Carien Goosens have refreshed her skills with tone, colour, shape and texture - all represented in the work ‘Winton Billabong’. The Festival of the Outback was an opportunity to depict a quiet billabong out of town, after the extraordinary rain event across QLD in 2025. So peaceful, yet a challenging time for local communities.

22. Julie Scobie, Visible Mending

47 x 58 cm, pure wool, NFS

I’m enjoying repurposing clothing. The front of the jumper was moth eaten after having been stored. With dry needle felting I created a tree over the hole.

Artist’s Statement: I think it’s important to repurpose textiles and hopefully give them new life. Keeping them out of landfill is also a plus. I love the use of natural fibres rather than synthetic.

23. Alison Muir, Rapids

56 x 38 x 1cm, paper, thread, timber frame, $250

Generally, my work is about ‘water’; using scraps of left-over printed papers from a workshop, the pieces themselves fell into place as a cascade, and I only needed to fix them in place.

24. Stephanie Peters, City Vertebrae

99 x 32 cm, plant fibre, recycled mountboard, $275

City Vertebrae is made from recycled paper pulp and plant fibre, imprinted with the pattern of a discarded tree guard. The work reflects cycles of use, waste, and renewal, transforming an overlooked urban remnant into a form that carries new meaning. The repeated marks evoke both the layering of leaves and the rhythm of a spine, suggesting growth, resilience, and support. By drawing on the textures and histories embedded in found material, City Vertebrae embodies material intelligence, highlighting the interconnections between body, nature, and the built environment.

Artist’s Statement: Stephanie Peters is a multidisciplinary artist whose papermaking practice explores texture, structure, and the transformation of natural and reclaimed materials. She works with plant fibres, recycled papers, and experimental pulps, employing traditional and experimental papermaking to create tactile works. Her process highlights the interplay between material, craft, and concept, often reflecting themes of connection, urban environments, and human labour. Peters’ work invites close engagement, revealing the layered, handcrafted nature of paper. She has exhibited locally and internationally, continuing to push the possibilities of paper as both medium and metaphor in contemporary art.

25. Annie Foy, Home Grown

114 x 114 cm, silk charmeuse, $230

Watching the seasons change, and new spring growth emerge - knowing the colours hiding within the plants - makes biding my time worthwhile. Plants are harvested to create dyes and colour my cloth. The plant matter then goes into the compost bin. The next stage is to turn it into paper!

Artist’s Statement: Creating textiles from raw fibre has been a long-term preoccupation. Various techniques have been explored (felting, shibori, spinning.) A quest to find out about natural dyes has led me to combine travel and learning in Mexico, Japan, Spain and Holland. I work from my home studio and teach occasional workshops.

26. Sylvie Pagna, Toot toot

A2, Canon photographic paper, $200

The metal of the wheels of the steam train show the skills and attention to detail in the construction of a working wheel with all the nuts and bolts. It is a marvel to admire and honour the genius of the engineers who designed those and the workers who created them.

Artist’s Statement: Photography is my passion since I was 14 years old. I studied it formally for four years and I am still an avid learner, which is why I like to be part of a club like Primrose Park Photography.

27. Natanya Haggman, Lorenz Manifold

85 x 60 x 33 cm, synthetic yarn and wire, NFS

The Lorenz system reveals invariant manifolds that make trajectories diverge exponentially from tiny differences in initial conditions while being attracted to specific regions of phase space, creating the chaotic ‘butterfly effect’. Instead of abstract equations, crochet gives a tangible, 3D form to these flows, essentially allowing you to hold chaos in your hands.

Artist’s Statement: Natanya Haggman is a maker working with crochet, knitting, spinning, and sewing. A physiotherapist by training and a self-described nerd at heart, she is fascinated by how structures — in bodies, yarn, and ideas — shape form and function. Often following new techniques down rabbit holes, she creates clothing, blankets, and other functional textiles, while increasingly exploring pieces that represent abstract concepts. Her work bridges practicality and curiosity, transforming complex ideas into tactile, material form.

28. Jane Theau, Saint Bob and the Swifts

200 x 140 cm, embroidered digital print on linen, NFS

Bob Brown has dedicated his life to saving our last wild places. This photo was taken the day he was arrested for protesting the logging of old growth forests, breeding habitat of the endangered swift parrot, in Tasmania’s Styx Valley. As you read this there are protesters in a last stand tree-sit to save these massive, centuries-old, felled trees like the one on which Bob stands. Public intellectual, medical doctor, leader of the Franklin Dam campaign, founder of the Australian Greens and Bush Heritage Australia - at 80 Saint Bob is still out there on the front line.

29. Glenn Hunt, Matter over mind

44 x 56.5 cm, digital image on Canson paper, $150

I captured this image while on holiday in Ireland. A man was sitting on a bench sun baking while using a shrub to shade his head. From my angle, it looked like the plant was covering/consuming the upper part of his body – the opposite of mind over matter, hence the title. A thought bubble could be, “I have this strange urge to become a vegetarian.” There is also a 1960’s movie titled “Little shop of horrors” about a plant that eats people…this also reminds of that classic horror film.

Artist’s Statement: As a creative photographer I am always looking to capture different, unusual perspectives of life using my camera, especially while traveling overseas. This one caught my eye of a person enjoying the day, (trying to be) incognito while sun baking.

30. Elizabeth Taylor, Invasive Species VI

27 x 15 x 15 cm, mixed media, NFS

When upcycling or reusing materials as part of my sculpting practice ‘material intelligence’ is an essential part of the process. It takes research, understanding and a degree of trial and error to understand how the many materials I use will respond. Often the materials themselves highly influence the outcome – there is a process of ‘listening’ to what the materials have to say. This colonial lady is part of a series of pieces which examine the impact invasive and introduced weed species are having on our environment. Various forms of introduced cactus are a blight in the outback.

Artist’s Statement: Elizabeth is an emerging, multi-media artist based in Sydney. She regularly travels to regional and remote Australia for inspiration. Her work explores Australian landscapes and environmental issues impacting our wildlife. She sculpts, paints and draws. Elizabeth studied art in the 80’s in the UK. She completed two years of a combined art and drama BA Honours degree called ‘Expressive Arts’ before embarking on a successful corporate career. Now she has come full circle back to her artistic roots. Her theatrical background usually brings an element of storytelling and drama to her work, and she excitedly incorporates a huge mixture of media into her pieces.

31. Shamim Cachalia, There are no words

18 x 28 cm, paper pulp and ink, NFS

I have explored the intelligence embedded in paper- the memory, fragility, resistance and capacity to record stories. My work is handmade paper pulp, shaped into delicate letters and inscribed with poems that deal with the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. Paper is tactile, carries stories, resists erasure when digital voices are silenced and has the power to hold truth quietly and defiantly. The raw, uneven, imperfect, fragile, burnt sheets embody the precariousness of life under siege. The charred edges evoke the ruins of Gaza where stories are lost but survive in remnants.

Artist’s Statement: Shamim is a member of Primrose Paper Arts and is self-taught and interested in paper and textiles.

32. Sydney Pemberton, Portrait of a Lady

28 cm x 23 cm, recycled and tissue paper, papier maché and cardboard, $250

Portraits of women through history are much celebrated. By enhancing the photographic face I hoped to create an eye-catching portrait. There is a sense of mystery and serious intent with the face off to the left. By placing the lady off centre it could be interpreted that she is avoiding being in a situation where there could be danger.

33. Deb Solomon, It’s here – in writing

41 x 51 cm, mixed paper media, NFS

Handwritten letters, today an almost obsolete form of communication, have a way of capturing material intelligence about their author that otherwise would have been lost in time. Snippets of correspondence provoke questions. I am the same person today as yesterday, but am I the same person I was 40 years ago? Examine the evidence before you.

Artist’s Statement: Discovering the joy of paint and paper at a mature age, Deb puts aside her usual impermanent mode of expression (food preparation) from time to time to see what creativity results by using colour on paper.

34. Katherine Henry, Piece Making

50 x 50 x 50 cm, mixed media, NFS

This mask, moulded to hold Katherine’s head perfectly still through six weeks of radiation, allowed no movement—not even a blink. To find calm amid the loud, clinical environment, she imagined weaving colours and patterns in her mind. When treatment ended, the mask—despised—was hidden away for four years. Piece Making plays on the act of making peace, reflecting both personal struggle and quiet resilience. The mask, and the invisible precision of the radiation program it enabled, embody a form of material intelligence: the interplay of trust, technology, and human endurance woven into healing.

35. Kathy Stewart, Harlequin

38 x 36 x 40 cm, mixed media, NFS

Harlequin typifies the burst of enthusiasm, of creativity - the brain wave that explodes new ideas into our world. Long live joyful creation with the materials of our world.

Artist’s Statement: My practice combines love of construction with joy in the use of fibres and collected objects to build a rich palette of colours and textures. I am enlivened by the possibilities through artworks to challenge the status quo and am inspired by those who succeed on this pathway. Flamboyant wrapped spikes of Harlequin inspire the playful disrespect typified by Commedia dell ‘Arte’s Arlequin or a court jester or even contemporary cartoonists and comedians. This is an explosion of creative thinking.

36. Simon Hall, Vase Still Life

60 x 45 cm, photo on paper, NFS

Glass is a superbly versatile material. In this photo I have used glass as a method of reflection, as a tabletop, & as a decorative vase.

Artist’s Statement: Active hobbyist photographer with a love of photographing flowers.

37. Jan Hook, Red and Black Columns

23 x 24 x 15 cm, woollen yarn and polypropylene, $600

The theme of this exhibition is material intelligence.
Material: the substance from which something is made. For my work it was red and black woollen yarn and polypropylene which was used for the core. Both natural and man-made materials. Intelligence: the general mental capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding and adapting, and problem solving. The capacity to learn, understand, reason, plan, and solve problems. Using a figure-of-eight stitch and coiling I applied these qualities to my work.

38. Vicki Dixon, Let Go

46.5 x 46 cm, calico, silk, cotton, beads and thread, $550

Our hands carry the memory of learned skills. An embodied intelligence, quietly guiding each gesture. In this work, the simple act of releasing a flower stem becomes both a message and metaphor. Stitched into cloth, it is a gentle reminder to let go of what no longer serves, and an invitation to move forward with ease. What began as an experiment in free motion embroidery soon revealed a life of its own, softly unfolding as both practice and reflection. Created solely from repurposed materials already available to me.

Artist’s Statement: I’ve always been a maker, drawn to working with my hands and exploring new projects. After studying Fashion Design at East Sydney Technical College, I spent 30 years in the trade before stepping away, burnt out and disillusioned with its direction. My creative path then expanded into fine jewellery, ceramics, and photography. In 2024, a transformative immersion in France reignited my passion for textiles, and I’ve been absorbed in fabric, stitch, and construction ever since...driven by curiosity, experimentation, and a renewed love for the craft.

39. Alison Muir, Recycled rags

112 x 70 x 3.5 cm, recycled kimono cloth, $750

I cannot allow beautiful old cloth that shows the aging of time and use, to be thrown away. This collage of cloths came about when I was gifted bags of recycled lined kimono and shirt scraps as a piece of work for a 'playtime' session at Textiles Sydney, in 2025.

40. Suzanne Marks, Ancient Hawaiian Chant

15 x 20 cm, watercolour, ink on canvas, NFS

The materials canvas, ink and watercolour all have their own ways of responding.

Artist’s Statement: I am a member of the Australian Society of Calligraphers (ASC). Although I have doing calligrapher for many years, since joining the ASC I have been exposed to learning new types of writing techniques and making artwork out of the alphabet.

41. Sylvie Pagna, Bricks and Mortar

A2, Canon photographic paper, $200

This wall is part of the prison at Port Arthur (TAS). It represents the raw materials of the building and the skills and determination of the workers to build these walls with so limited resources and with so much hard work in a very cold and hostile place.

42. Nicole de Mestre, Handle with care

35 x 221 cm, recycled and found materials, $160

In basketry, tools help transform raw materials into forms. From knives that strip fibre to needles that stitch, tools extend the maker’s hands giving greater control over materials. By including old tools as a part of the basket itself, their role is reimagined. Once used to cut, shape or bind, tools now become part of the finished work, carrying their history forward. The basket is both vessel and story, showing how human ingenuity not only relies on tools to make, but can also reshape them into meaning.

Artist’s Statement: Nicole can be found either in her overcrowded shed or out on her local streets rifling through kerbside pick-up piles searching for inspiration. Her art reflects a curious attachment to discarded materials, an increasing frustration with the prolific waste of modern society and a healthy obsession with rusty metal and old rope. She creates an eclectic range of artistic works, inspired by environmental concerns and linked through the use of locally sourced, recycled materials and found objects.

43. Alison Muir, 6 handle vessel

26cm x 90cm x 50cm, paper covered wire, $250

For years I have coveted a black & white drawing of an Aboriginal vessel used to carry light material. I looked around for a material that would allow me to weave it but also keep the open shape of an open weave vessel and found 2mm paper covered wire. The vessel was hard to weave and retain its shape and openness. It was achieved with pliers to crimp the paper covered wire at the twisted junctions.

44. Sydney Pemberton, Help Me…

61 x 38 cm, recycled and tissue paper, papier maché and cardboard, $500

My sculpture is an exploration of the precarious reality made by refugees, particularly those who risk everything in search of safety. The heart of the piece is the lifesaver, a symbol of hope and survival balanced precariously. The form of the sculpture is meant to evoke the visceral fear of drowning. Along our coastline each year there are drownings by swimmers who don't understand the beach warning signs, currents or surf conditions. "Help me" etched in the sealike waves is the plea often unheard or unheeded. Many people who drown on our coast are newly settled refugees.

45. Frances Ergen, Carpet Bag

50 x 30 cm, velvet silk ikat and other textiles, $75

A bag for everyday combining silk velvet ikat from Uzbekistan & other fabrics. Ikat has been created with ancient intelligence, centuries before the digital age using exacting calculations to tie dye the warp into designs before weaving.

46. Frances Ergen, New Look Jacket

63 x 50 cm, men’s wool suit fabric, NFS

Always an adherent of reworking fabrics sometimes destined for another use, l conceived this jacket from men’s suiting offcuts, reinventing them into a jacket with a more feminine profile.