Intimate Narratives
These works are my response to Jonathon McBurnie’s curatorial brief for the exhibition Intimacy. With no set plan, I sat at my bench and began, drawing first on partially made pieces: an unresolved bowl, a handful of nail heads, and a mythical animal skull. While searching through my drawers for a glass bottle, I uncovered my collection of lenses. As I worked to make sense of these components, a broken ceramic doll sat nearby. A friend had given it to me months earlier, and I had placed it on the bench without much thought. Yet as I worked, I became increasingly aware of its gaze—fixed, insistent—almost as though it was determined to become part of the series.
Memory Bowl, Recycled and reused sterling silver, found nails. 2026. Image: Michelle Bowden.
Looking for Evidence (feet carry scars), Recycled and reused sterling silver and reused glass lens. 2026. Image: Michelle Bowden.
Looking for Evidence (hands carry traces), Recycled and reused sterling silver and reused glass lens. 2026. Image: Michelle Bowden.
The Body Carries Traces, Broken ceramic and textile doll, reused and recycled sterling silver. 2026. Image: Michelle Bowden.
Keeping Safe, Recycled and Reused sterling silver and found glass bottle. 2026. Image: Michelle Bowden.
Intimacy
Rockhampton Museum of Art, 27 March - 5 July 2026
Intimacy brings together artists who practices align with the personal, the internal and the profound, to create an experience that will stay with the viewer long after they leave the exhibition. With a flood of images available at the swipe of a finger, Intimacy favours form and size, with works that pack an emotional punch encouraging audiences to spend time and communion with each work.
Featuring: Ron Adams, Roy Ananda, Nick Ashby, John Baldessari, Vicky Browne, Kirsty Bruce, Eugene Carchesio, Regi Cherini, Julie Fragar, Ian Friend, Miles Hall, Michelle Hamer, Caitlin Hespe, Carol Jerrems, Talitha Kennedy, Jo Lankester, Norman Lindsay, Don Nace, Robert Preston, Lorna Quinn, Joel Rea, Edward Ruscha, Sandra Selig, Edward Steichen, Elizabeth Shaw, Gemma Smith, Paul Trefry and Ben Trupperbäumer.
Curated by Jonathan McBurnie.
Principal Loan Partner: National Gallery of Australia
https://www.rmoa.com.au/Home
Rockhampton Museum of Art, 27 March - 5 July 2026
Intimacy brings together artists who practices align with the personal, the internal and the profound, to create an experience that will stay with the viewer long after they leave the exhibition. With a flood of images available at the swipe of a finger, Intimacy favours form and size, with works that pack an emotional punch encouraging audiences to spend time and communion with each work.
Featuring: Ron Adams, Roy Ananda, Nick Ashby, John Baldessari, Vicky Browne, Kirsty Bruce, Eugene Carchesio, Regi Cherini, Julie Fragar, Ian Friend, Miles Hall, Michelle Hamer, Caitlin Hespe, Carol Jerrems, Talitha Kennedy, Jo Lankester, Norman Lindsay, Don Nace, Robert Preston, Lorna Quinn, Joel Rea, Edward Ruscha, Sandra Selig, Edward Steichen, Elizabeth Shaw, Gemma Smith, Paul Trefry and Ben Trupperbäumer.
Curated by Jonathan McBurnie.
Principal Loan Partner: National Gallery of Australia
https://www.rmoa.com.au/Home