Eloise Kirk

Image: RISE artist Eloise Kirk in her studio. Photo: QVMAG.

Based in Dodges Ferry near Hobart, Eloise Kirk’s practice is shaped by the elemental forces of her coastal surroundings.

Her work draws directly from the landscape: "I sample images of waves, clouds and rock formations within my collages and sculptures, she says. "More recently I wandered down to the sandstone rocks by the beach and pressed clay slabs into them to form the textural surfaces for a group of new sculptures."

Eloise describes her practice as an exploration of unification between materials, processes and ideas. "Through the use of erasure, fragmentation and assemblage I use a sequence of symbolic arrangements," she explains.

Her work tests the boundaries between the romantic and the surreal, while also engaging critically with environmental issues and the overconsumption of natural resources. Yet her art also embraces change: "My practice embraces a sense of hopefulness - the playful reforming and reclaiming of that which is unsuccessful, cast aside or decayed. I am interested in the slow decay and environmental transformation throughout time."

Image: Eloise's studio is filled with artworks and inspiration. Photo: QVMAG.

Inspiration comes from both natural and built environments, such as impermanent forms shaped by time.

"I am drawn to peculiar rock formations that provoke thoughts of the otherworldly, spiritual oddities, and the unnerving. I often find myself working with the broken, the volatile and the inexplicable," she says. Geological formations, volcanoes, caves and mountainous forms -sourced locally and internationally - frequently appear in her work.

Eloise's making process is intuitive and cyclical, involving repeated acts of building, breaking and rebuilding until a work reaches its own organic conclusion. This openness to uncertainty sits at the core of her practice.

With a background that spans printmaking, painting, ceramics, taxidermy and sculpture, Eloise’s work reflects a lifelong curiosity for materials and hands-on experimentation: "The works are not planned, and they come to an end point organically."

Image: Eloise works in her Hobart studio. Photo: QVMAG.

With six works featured in RISE, Eloise hopes her work allows viewers space to form their own interpretations. "The pieces are non-prescriptive and allow enough ambiguity and space for multiple experiences and relationships to be drawn."

Being included in RISE is both humbling and affirming for the artist, who values the strength of the group and the opportunity to exhibit alongside fellow practitioners. "The group of selected artists are strong and compelling and I am delighted to be among them."

Eloise’s work reflects the rhythms of change - where decay, renewal, and transformation exist side by side. Her practice embraces uncertainty, allowing materials to guide the outcome through cycles of making and unmaking. In doing so, she invites viewers to consider their own relationship to time, environment, and impermanence.

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