Felted lampshade

Wool and paper – Wet felting 26 H x 25.5 D My work explores reshaping identities through landscape, memory, and migration. Working in felt, paper, and illumination, I draw connections between the end moraines of the place I come from and the ancient rock platforms of the coastline where I now live. These contrasting environments — from green grasslands to seagrass meadows — become a language through which I examine belonging, change, and continuity over time. Wool is central to my process. Its capacity to shift, bind, erode, and reform mirrors the way identities are shaped by movement and place. Layers of felt and paper create surfaces that echo geological formations, weathered stone, tidal markings, and fragile plant life. Light plays an important role within the work, revealing textures and subtle transitions that might otherwise remain hidden. I am drawn to the tension between the endurance of ancient rocks and the shorter-lived grasses and seagrasses that inhabit them. Together they speak of resilience, adaptation, and cycles of renewal. Through these materials and forms, I seek to create contemplative works that hold both personal and environmental histories, inviting viewers to consider their own relationship to landscape, time, and transformation. Petra Hilsen (Australia)