Some elements of my life sit neatly in distinct boxes. My art, however, does not. Each work I make varies in medium, style, even concept. Yet it is all tied together by an underlying process called The Future Histories Project which involves responding to discarded and forgotten Objects. The project entails visiting second-hand bookstores and searching for books where something was abandoned inside by the donor. To date I have unearthed 505 makeshift bookmarks left inside 369 books. The Items I discover vary from photos, thank you notes and bank statements to honeymoon postcards, recipes, boarding passes and pressed flowers left inside novels, bibles, self-help books, biographies and more.
Relying on a combination of chance and structure, The Future Histories Project acts as an idea generating mechanism. It allows me to explore the nature of Objects, particularly found Objects, investigating the way meaning is applied to Things and how damaging and interfering with these Items changes the stories they tell. By both physically and metaphorically altering found Objects, I aim to generate a space in which meaning is not fixed, but rather full of potential, a space where the viewer can explore the possibilities of their own narrative identity as well as the Objects in the work.
Leonie is a multidisciplinary artist based in Naarm/Melbourne. Her background as a GP and hypnotherapist led to her interest in addressing dualisms which dominate Western thinking and exploring how we can learn to exist comfortably with unknowns. It is in these moments of ambiguity that we become open to the possibility of understanding, bridging the gaps between memory, experience, and belief.
CV
Education
2022- Bachelor of Fine Art, Honours, Monash University
2020- Bachelor of Fine Art, Monash University
2010- Diploma of Hypnotherapy, Academy of Hypnotic Science
2009- Certificate IV in Hypnotherapy, Academy of Hypnotic Science
1997- Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
1991- MBBS (Hons), Monash University
Solo Exhibitions
2024- ReDisAssembly Point, Assembly Point, Southbank, Melbourne, Australia
2023- Unremembered Histories, Linden New Art Project Space, Melbourne, Australia
2022- Seen/Unseen, Glen Eira City Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2021- Fragments of a Collective Identity, Tanks Art Centre, Cairns, Australia
2021- Memorial to a Fictional Life, Alternating Current Art Space, Melbourne, Australia
2019- The Mythic Poem, Intermission Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2018- Distant Intimacy, Intermission Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2017- Artist Open House, Melbourne, Australia
2016- Artist Open House, Melbourne, Australia
2016- The Adventures of Angela and Alfonso, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2015- Artist Open House, Melbourne, Australia
2015- 3 Days of Chaos, The Owl and Cat, Melbourne, Australia
Group Shows
2022- MADA Now, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
2020- MADA Now, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
2019- Physical Absence: A Human Portrait, Missing Persons Space, Melbourne, Australia
2019- Collection: an imagining by emerging curators, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
2019- Broken Telephone, Intermission Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2019- Milk Crate Show, Intermission Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2018- Atlas of the unseen and unspoken, A Constructed World, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
2018- Wall to Wall MADA Exhibition, Monash University, Melbourne Australia
2018- Milk Crate Show, Intermission Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2016- Myths and Memory, Beth Hulme Gallery, Melbourne Australia
2015- 40x40 Art Exhibition, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2015- Figures and Faces, Beth Hulme Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2015- Wild Horses, Hogan Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2015- Small Scale Art Exhibition, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Prizes
2022- Finalist, Percival Portrait Painting Prize, Townsville, Australia
2021- Finalist, Northern Beaches Library Artist’s Book Award, Sydney, Australia
2015- Group One Finalist, Lethbridge 10,000 Small Scale Art Award, Brisbane, Australia
Residencies
2021- The Tanks, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
2020- Artist Residency at No. 29, Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia
Grants and mentorships
2020- Monash MPavilion Student Art Grant
2020- Memo Review Emerging Art Critics Mentorship
Volunteer roles
2019- Director, Intermission Gallery, Melbourne, Australia