Opening launch: Wednesday 2 October 6–8PM

Turning Soil explores the possibilities and limitations of ecological art at a painterly scale. This line of questioning began with acrylic paintings embedded with plants and soil before shifting to materials which could fully decompose or be repurposed. As Val Plumwood notes, an ecological approach must consider the extractive economic and political systems that harm communities, so Rochelle began intertwining compostable materials with found building elements to reflect the complexities of our interconnected environments. Each artwork opens a dialogue on contamination and responsibility, inviting viewers to consider their relationship with nature and the systems that shape our world.

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ABOUT THE ARTIST

Rochelle Morris is an emerging artist from Dharawal land, who recently graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Art, Honours at the Victorian College of the Arts. Her practice explores ecological assemblages through a decolonial, eco-feminist lens. Morris blurs the boundaries between painting, sculpture, drawing and installation with a range of materials including plants, earth pigments, spices and found building materials. Via entangling human and non-human matter, she aims to demonstrate the intra-connections in our causal environment.

Image credit: Rochelle Morris, collaborating with soil (close up), 2024, acrylic paint, sediment, water, flour, bush lily, bitou bush, ox-eye daisy, acacia linifolia, bottlebrush on canvas, 18 x 24 in