Inspirit Wilderness: Bettina Willner

‍Inspirit Wilderness subtly prods and pokes at the boundaries between art and nature, seamlessly blurring the dichotomy within the gallery space.

Through her unique approach, Willner transfigures her sculptural ceramics into manifestations of the relationships between all things, uniting architectural, organic, and sculptural elements. Characterised by textural and glistening glazes, as well as gestural hand-building techniques, her works come to life in an ambitious staging that brings nature’s relations into the heart of Melbourne Design Week.

The ‘outside’. Draped muddy oils of painterly strokes resembling flames. The dense tree ridden wilds, cast shadows; alluding to the aura of the wilderness.

Bringing the outside in. Rising up and encompassing; engulfing the hushed white walls of the gallery. Breathing. Allowing the wilderness to seep in, serving as an act of resistance and receptivity to nature’s influence:

“The wilderness rose up to it, And sprawled around, no longer wild.”

Concurrent with her selection as a finalist in the prestigious Officine Saffi Award, The exhibition acts as a suggestion to viewers to engage, dually, with creations of the hand and the natural world in new and meaningful ways, fostering a deeper appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things.