Drawing

My concept for Eternal Apotheosis was that certain human ideas and values are so abundant throughout history that they become almost divine. My body of work represents the profound and continuing conversation between the past and future, between Greek deities who symbolise ancient civilisations' values and beliefs and powerful women in modern culture. My work pairs paragons of celestial wonder (Urania, Jill Tarter), aesthetic beauty (Aphrodite, Alek Wek), musical creation (Apollo, Nina Simone), elemental value (Poseidon, Yusra Mardini) and moral justice (Themis, Ruth Bader Ginsburg). I encourage audiences to consider humanity's heritage and the present, side by side.

In my body of work I represent cake as a symbol of growth, mortality and the bittersweet passage of time, contrasting the intimacy of a community gathering with the cake's impermanence in its inevitable consumption. Across progressively smaller panels the diminishing cake, shifting light sources and receding figurative presence convey a story, moving from the individual to the cake itself, communicating how its form can become a carrier of memories. My intention was to illustrate how celebration is intertwined with the inevitability of ageing. I chose to work with a traditional form to demonstrate its persistence within a contemporary world.

Dissociation offers a fragile escape from the inevitability of life, a retreat from regrets and undesirable circumstances. It destabilises the foundations of identity, collapsing the coherence of thought, memory and presence into something unfamiliar. My intention in my body of work was to convey the sense of slipping between recognition and self-estrangement, inhabiting one's body while simultaneously becoming a witness to it. Charcoal - easily smudged and erased - is the best medium to represent this precarious experience. I invite the audience to reflect on what it means to lose oneself, and the struggle to regain coherence in a disorienting world.

My body of work examines Australia's diverse ecosystems with the intention of evoking wonder and curiosity. The recurring motif of the sphere conveys the distinctiveness and biodiversity of five major Australian landscapes. The spheres also represent a transformation of the flora and fauna into alien- like organisms. Each sphere was drawn freehand, intentionally imperfect, to communicate the organic irregularities of nature. I chose vibrant colour and an illustrative, playful style to encourage audiences to rediscover familiar landscapes with fresh eyes and a childlike sense of curiosity. The key catalogues the 76 native and introduced species referenced in the work.

My body of work investigates a creek system that I have been visiting regularly for the past six years. Each time I visit I feel its changing rhythms and patterns. These layered memories inspired me to represent experiences beyond the physical: the joy taken in actively observing and exploring nature over time. My work integrates a mixed selection of techniques, including printmaking from collected plant specimens that surround this area, detailed pencil drawings, and layered acrylic paint and ink. My intention is for the audience to become immersed in both the details and unity of this special landscape.

My body of work is a critique of Christianity's justification, exacerbation and deification of female suffering. Women are sinful only in our likeness to God; the knowledge Eve's apple bestowed, our divine creative ability. Our immorality is understood in the femaleness of original sin; our inherent fallenness. My work represents the ethereal Madonna and Child as the Christian epitome of feminine morality - the paradoxically virgin mother. Portraits of Our Lady of Sorrows gazing towards the Madonna convey the desire to meet unattainable moral expectations and the subsequent guilt of perceived inadequacy. God appropriates femininity before damning us for it.

My body of work investigates my internal struggles, using the technique of stippling for its ability to bring me peace of mind and an escape from reality. This therapeutic representation of the thoughts and emotions that engulf me released my repressed conflicted feelings and let me 'breathe'. The motif of paper bags conveys how the work is my personal outlet, cleansing away my inner turmoil. My intention is to empower the audience to find their own 'paper bags' that help them overcome, push onwards, and to let them know that they are not alone in this world.

My body of work conveys the essence of Australian summer - its warmth, spontaneity and quiet nostalgia. Inspired by my childhood in Port Macquarie, each coloured pencil drawing represents family photographs as moments suspended in light. My intention is for the soft edges and candid compositions to communicate the fleeting simplicity of those days, celebrating the beauty found in ordinary, sun-soaked moments.

Only when memory and cultural lineage intertwine can the scars of survival from famine and war in Maoist China ripple across generations, forging a love at once unyielding and redemptive. I studied the Chinese idiom 'Qing Chu Yu Lan' ('the colour blue is derived from indigo yet is brighter than indigo') to honour my grandparents. They were the 'indigo' whose sacrifices were the start of our family's upward mobility. The humble ballpoint pen conveys their modesty. Within the vivid, blue chiaroscuro, I represent their unwavering love as an anchor that grounds me in the 'vivid blue' of my family's development.