GERT goes home to lutruwita/Tasmania

I am heading south to lutruwita to launch GERT in her home town of Queenstown, at The Unconformity festival. I am so excited to be performing at the same festival that first took me to Queenstown in 2018 as a wide-eyed punter! After that I will share her story at other events on the island.

The launch of GERT in Queenstown at The Unconformity is at 2pm on Saturday 18th October, as part of the Moonland literary hub: check out the full program of Moonland talks, readings and performances. I am looking forward to sharing GERT’s story, surrounded by her family and community.

Then on 4 November from 1-2pm I will be in the atmospheric Allport Library in Hobart for an author talk and reading. I will perform excerpts from GERT and talk about how my fascination with a photograph inspired the research process that resulted in this narrative poetry collection. Free event but registration required: register here.

Finally on 5 November I will feature at Silver Words at Shambles Brewery in Hobart. This free event includes an open mic plus I will do a feature performance of GERT. Inspired by Gert, the suggested theme for the open mic is MATRIARCHS! Doors at 6.15pm for a 6.30pm start.

Hope to see you on the island!

OUT NOW - GERT!

In 1924, near Queenstown on the west coast of Lutruwita/Tasmania, a boy holds a gun with a black cockatoo perched on the barrel. A young woman with short curly hair stands beside him in the button grass, a dead black cockatoo dangling from each hand.

When I saw this arresting image, she was captivated: who is this woman, and what is she doing? GERT is the answer: a non-fiction narrative collection of poetry and images which tells two inseparable stories: one of a place, and the other of a woman who lived there.

I launched GERT in Canberra at Smith’s Alternative on Monday 18 August 2025, with the first section of the related spoken word multimedia performance. Huge thanks to everyone who came to wish me and GERT well!

You can buy GERT now from Recent Work Press.

MARION Science Storytelling Prize!

I was thrilled to discover a couple of weeks ago that I was shortlisted in the Marion (ACT Writers’ Centre) Science Storytelling prize, with my poem ‘Film Script for Lutruwita’.

I use the form of a film script to tell a story about about the extinction of the Thylacine, and the existential threats to it’s nearest living relative, the Tasmanian Devil - and what we can do about them.

Last Saturday I was even more chuffed to be awarded the prize for the open section! It was a lovely morning tea celebration, and I was delighted to meet judge Olivia Congden and the winners runners up in all the categories. Can’t wait to read their pieces when they are published by Marion

With judge Olivia Congden at the awards celebration!

Coming soon - new poetry collection 'GERT'

It is 1924, near Queenstown on the west coast of Tasmania. A boy holds a double-barrelled gun with a black cockatoo perched, bright-eyed, on the barrel. A young woman with short curly hair stands beside him in the button grass, a dead black cockatoo dangling from each hand. 

When I saw this arresting image in a photograph in 2018, I was captivated by the woman's face and intrigued by the scene.  What is this place? Who is this woman, and what is she doing? 

In 2021, I decided to find out - and the family interviews, archival research and environmental immersion has resulted in GERT - a non-fiction narrative poetry collection that tells two life stories: that of a place, and of one woman who lived there. GERT also includes prints, made using local botanical specimens and photographs.

The Canberra launch of GERT will be at Smith’s Alternative on Monday 18 August.

Detail of more events and performances to come. GERT is now available for pre-order on the Recent Work Press website.

'Rich and Rare' - solo exhibition at ANCA, Dickson ACT from 4-22 June 2025

Next Wednesday my exhibition ‘Rich and Rare’ will open at ANCA (Australian National Capital Artists) in Dickson, Canberra.

This submersive exhibition presents the results of three years of creative investigation into the history and future of native shellfish reefs, and specifically ostrea angasi, the native flat oyster, which were once plentiful around Australia’s southern coastlines. Although these ecosystems were nearly destroyed within the first century of European settlement, they have hung on, and recently been the focus of restoration efforts.

I have materialised the fragility, delicacy and near-skeletal distribution of ostrea angasi in machine-embroidered lace, and used the lace oysters and fabric to explore the qualities, growth, collapse and possible future of shellfish reefs, as well as their relationship with human society.

The exhibition will be open from Midday - 5pm, Wednesday - Sundays from 4 -22 June. And if you would like to join me at an event, there will be:

• Exhibition opening: 5.30 - 7pm on Wednesday 4 June.

• Artist talk: 2 - 3pm on Saturday 14 June.

• Rich and Rare Oyster Saloon tasting and discussion: 3.30 - 4.30pm on Saturday 21 June. Tickets essential - available from Humanitix - $25 for half-dozen oysters, $35 for full dozen. Each serve will comprise: half angasi flat oysters, half Sydney rock oysters.

• Closing reception: 3 - 4pm, Sunday 22 June.

Hope to see you there!

Poetry at Batemans Bay, 2-3 December 2023!

I am excited to be heading to the coast on the first weekend of December, to deliver two workshops:

• In the Moment - Poetry and Spoken Word: 1.30 - 4.30pm on Saturday and

• D - I - Y Zine! 1.00 - 4.00pm on Sunday.

And on Saturday night I will be sharing my poetry performance with projections ‘Matter of Life’, plus a poetry open mic and music from Emily and the Millers.

You can book for all of these via Humanitix (this is for the performance event, the workshops are linked in the description): https://events.humanitix.com/poetry-at-the-bay

Coming up at M16 Chutespace - Lost Lace

Next week I will be installing some new work in M16’s wonderful micro-gallery Chutespace. This converted library chute is the perfect place to get the first baby-steps of a new project into the world.

Lost Lace is the start of new work meditating on the destruction of our continents extensive flat oyster reefs during the first century post-colonisation. Learn more about the work here.

If you are in Narrabundah or surrounds, stop to have a peek and then go in to see the other great exhibitions inside: Bushranger Blue by Rory King, Sensory Bodies curated by Zev Aviv, and mutual acts: ecologies of a garden by Lani Shea-An.

Wrack and Salvage - closing weekend with workshop and artist talk

Looking forward to this drop-in workshop on Saturday 25 March - join me to make a collage protest postcard, expressing your concerns about climate change and the environment, to post to one of our elected representatives. And at 3pm I will be giving a talk about how and why I made 'Wrack and Salvage', what I learned in the process, and will be keen to hear your responses and thoughts too. Both free but please click through to register! Registration and more details here: https://www.belcoarts.com.au/wrack-and-salvage/

Examples of ‘protest postcards’ - come and make your own this Saturday!

'Wrack and Salvage' - coming up at Belco Arts

My next exhibition, ‘Wrack and Salvage’ will open at Belconnen Arts Centre at 6pm on Friday 10 February, and run until 26 March 2023. I started making this work during the ACT’s second COVID shutdown in 2021, with a sense of urgency and I am very glad to be bringing it into the world.

Wrack and Salvage provokes questions in the face of the climate crisis. What do we value? What do we stand to lose? What will we see destroyed? What are we willing to sacrifice? What are we prepared to save?

This sculptural installation resembles the flying forms of flood debris. They were made using only books and other documents that were already in my possession when I started making this work, a non-renewable resource of sorts.

Please join me for the opening, at 6pm on 10 February, alongside two other fantastic exhibitions by artists Paul Summerfield and Valerie Schönjahn, plus the open exhibition ‘Earth Unframed’.

Watch 'Spires' on Vimeo

My animated video ‘Spires’, made for Hidden Films, Rookwood 2020, is now available to watch on Vimeo. A chorus of the dead speak to the birds moving through the cemetery above them, animated by breath and spirit.