Artworks are first available for purchase by sponsors and dignitaries before being available in person at the Exhibition in Brisbane. Unsold artworks can also be purchased online following the event.
"I created 'Fragments of Consciousness' to explore the ephemeral nature of fast fashion and its impact on the environment. The artwork portrays stakeholders trying to hold firm to wisps of paper, symbolising their fleeting presence on the planet but lasting and irreversible impact.
Imagery of paper littering the landscape represents the discarded messages of sustainability and ethical practices, lost amidst the rush for profit. Instead, we urgently need to acknowledge the consequences of our choices and seek a sustainable pathway."
Gillian Richards, a visual poet, examines our responses to social issues and an Earth in crisis. Her art is an amalgam of writing and image-making through poetry, printmaking, painting, sculptural poetry and artist books.
From 2015-2018, Gillian battled mental and physical illness. She reflects on this with gratitude, acknowledging the gifts of time, guidance and reflection in understanding her own story. This has been instrumental in her surrendering entirely to her art practice.
Gillian started exhibiting in Brisbane in 2021 with the group exhibition Table 21, then the 2022 Recovered Futures Art Exhibition. This year, she partnered with Rachael Lee in the Walk Gently Exhibition at Logan Art Gallery.
Originally from Melbourne, Gillian now creates in her Gold Coast (Bullongin Country) studio.