Louise’s Art Practice
My art practice incorporates drawing, painting, and wire sculpture.
I am a Tasmanian visual artist of Trawlwoolway/Palawa heritage, with Irish and British ancestry. Much of my work references Country and cultural histories, incorporating a deep exploration and re-telling of the experiences of my ancestors, contextualised in the present. Also a researcher and co-author of publications on Aboriginal family history, most of my recent art practice explores my connection to the Palawa ancestors who endured the brutal colonisation of Tasmania in the early nineteenth century. My 2019 Bachelor of Contemporary Arts Honours exegesis, Giving Voice, was a journey into the remarkable life of my matriarch, Woretemoeteryenner (1795–1847), which led to an interpretation and visual representation of her story.
My landscapes celebrate the colours, land-forms and watercourses of beautiful North Western Tasmania where I grew up and currently live. As a Palawa woman I feel a strong family connection with this place and I express this personal connection through my paintings. Much of my work features the rolling, multi-coloured farmlands around Forth with the Dial Range to the west or the Great Western Tiers soaring up in the east. I also make figurative aluminium wire sculpture and enjoy creating sculptural narratives.
I exhibit regularly and have been a finalist in a number of state and national art prizes, held numerous solo exhibitions, and participate in group exhibitions across Australia. My work is held in public and private collections in both Australia and overseas, and my body of work, Nungu – Box 25, was acquired in 2023 by the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery for its First Nations Art and Culture Permanent Collection.
I have completed many public and private commissions and I manage my own professional arts practice. I am currently experimenting with natural and mixed media, including kelp, found charcoal and ochres, and working towards upcoming solo exhibitions.
