Catchment: Helen Earl + Belinda Piggott

Helen Earl and Belinda Piggott present Catchment. This exhibition explores the intricate tapestry of habitation and ecosystems, weaving narratives of interconnectedness, accumulation, and memory; traversing deep time to envision sustainable futures.

Earl and Piggot respond to Lake Macquarie precious ecosystems in an installation, drawn from their time spent next to the lake during a residency during 2024.  

Artist Bios

Helen Earl

Helen Earl holds a Master of Visual Arts from Sydney College of the Arts and has been exhibiting since 2009. Her practice is collaborative and multi-disciplinary, working often with clay combined with found, existent objects. Her artworks have been described as having a quiet activism, as her work always seeks to remind the viewer of the symbiotic relationship between nature and culture, between our histories and our future.

Earl was the 2011 Artist in Residence at The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, 2013 recipient of a Bathurst Regional Art Gallery residency at Hill End. In 2022 she undertook a ceramics CRETA residency in Rome, Italy and one at Vancouver Arts Centre in Albany, WA. In 2019, Helen was commissioned by the Sisters of Mercy Brisbane to create Short Careful Steps, a site responsive installation of intricately detailed porcelain flowers at Adderton: House of Heart & Mercy in Brisbane. 

She was a selected finalist in the 2021 Ravenswood Women’s Art Prize and received judges’ commendations in the 2022 KAAF Art Prize, the 2020 Pro Hart Outback Art Prize, the 2019 National Still Life Award and the 2019 Rookwood Sculpture Prize. 

Belinda Piggott

Belinda Piggott lives and works on the land of the Gadigal and Wangal people. A multidisciplinary artist, her research driven work is informed the tenacity of nature and respect for the interconnectedness of all life forms. The intersection of nature and technology is explored in various bodies of work that reference the urban landscape, seascape and the cosmos.

Community has always played a pivotal role in Piggott's work. Seeking input from peers and inviting collaboration, she embraces diverse perspectives to enrich her practice. This collaborative spirit extends beyond the studio, as she believes in the power of collective action to address pressing global challenges, such climate change.

Solo exhibitions include Constructed Forest, Laneway Art Space, St Kilda 2018, Stilled, Woollahra Gallery 2022 and All that Twinkles, Linden New Art, St Kilda 2023. Her work has been a finalist for art prizes including Waterhouse, Deakin Small Sculpture, Silicious and North Sydney Art Prizes. She is a member of collaborative groups including Entangled, Dirt Witches and Sea Worriers in addition to working with Helen Earl since 2019.

Image: Catchment. Photo by Richard Trang.

When

Location

Museum of Art and Culture (MAC), 1A First Street, Booragul 2284, Booragul 2284  View in Google Maps

-32.9741768,151.6156563

1A First Street, Booragul 2284 , Booragul 2284

Museum of Art and Culture (MAC)

1A First Street, Booragul 2284 , Booragul 2284

Catchment: Helen Earl + Belinda Piggott