A Blooming Legacy at Caloundra Regional Gallery
Jodie Cameron discovers the latest exhibition blossoming at Caloundra Regional Gallery this spring.
Whoever said Western Australia is the best place to witness wildflower season, clearly hasn’t seen the Sunshine Coast transform from July through to September – the bushlands bursting with dazzling violet, gold, pink and white. I am mesmerised by their spectacular colours calling us to connect, and seek out the hidden wonder tucked within the incredible wallum reserves in the region – known only to those who take the time to look.
Dr Sue Davis and Dr Lisa Chandler have been closely looking at and appreciating our local landscape for decades. Educators, curators, artists and self-declared wild/flower women, their latest project Wildflowering by Design will be in full bloom at the Caloundra Regional Gallery from 17 October to 30 November.
Celebrating native wildflowers, women, and their deep connection to place, this immersive exhibition features stunning work by contemporary female artists from across Queensland. It explores botanical illustrations, textile designs, digital installations and more, alongside a series of guided wildflower walks, workshops, and hands-on art experiences for all ages.
“It’s about celebrating women’s memory, identity, conservation, design and place – these flowers tell stories, and so do the women who paint them, protect them, and walk amongst them,” Dr Davis smiled. “The focus is on intergenerational knowledge, history and design innovation – they all play an important role in raising awareness.”
Featured artists include Rose Barrowcliffe, Nai Nai Bird, Renata Buziak, Donna Davis, Joolie Gibbs, Anne Harris, Nicole Jakins, Shelley Pisani, Edith Rewa, Cara Ann Simpson, Marni Stuart and Emma Thorp. While local creatives Zartisha Davis, Chloe Watego, Fiona Harding, Fuschia Darling, Grace Smith, Jasmine Veronique, Libby Derham, Megan Ruby Lee, Nicole Voevodin-Cash, Rosie Lloyd-Giblett, and Suzanne Breeze will also showcase textiles and patternmaking produced at design workshops at the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Maker Space.
“It’s about interpretation and how an artist is responding to this wildflower landscape, seeing their practice in a new light, and how it can touch people in different ways,” Dr Chandler adds. “By learning what grew here, and what still grows, the artists join First Nations custodians of the land in passing down those traditions and knowledge to future generations.”
At the heart of the exhibition is the extraordinary legacy of Kathleen McArthur – a beloved Sunshine Coast artist, writer, and environmental activist who was a pioneering force in the modern conservation movement. Kathleen also co-founded the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland, using her delicate wildflower watercolours as a persuasive tool for campaigning to protect the coast’s fragile ecosystems.
“Kathleen McArthur and Judith Wright were artists, so they’d always looked closely and carefully and responded through their art forms,” Dr Davis says. “But they became activists after they fell in love with the wildflowers and saw their environments being destroyed.”
It was a dusty bookshop discovery of Kathleen’s books and writings that sparked Dr Davis’s own wildflower wanderings, and the more she learned the more she wanted to protect and share their joy and beauty with others.
“Those books weren’t just field guides – they were stories of resistance and remembrance,” Dr Davis says. “Now the legacy of these wild/flower women is reimagined, from delicate botanical illustrations to bold digital installations, new artists honour the wildness of nature and the women who walk within it. Exploring the relationship between gender, environment and place, the HERstory of flowers has long been linked with women.
“Flowers were often subject matter for female artists in earlier times when their access to training was limited. The link to the feminine also comes with flowers often used for decorative purposes, celebration and commemoration. We wanted to both honour some of those histories but unsettle them as well.
“We still have built-in assumptions and prejudices around flowers, but the notion of a wild/flower woman tends to go hand-in-hand with a certain strength,” Dr Chandler explained.
With support from local councils, artists, and communities, Wildflowering by Design has been an evolving passion project – and now, a touring art exhibition – with its final stop in Caloundra. From hats crafted using 1920s sunhat patterns and locally designed textiles, to postcards, fabric swatches and artworks you can wear, the project bridges art, storytelling, fashion and everyday life.
“If we see wildflowers on our clothes, and in our homes – we value them more and that awareness can lead to protection,” Dr Davis adds. “We hope to keep the legacy of the past alive encouraging new generations to be worthy custodians of our plants and place.”
So whether you’re a budding botanist, an art lover, or a wild/flower woman at heart, take the time to wander through the wallum and the Wildflowering by Design exhibition at Caloundra. Experience an intersection of colour, history and celebration from the wild/flower women themselves.
“Wildflowers remind us to pause, to look closely, and celebrate what’s fleeting and fragile, and give back to this symbiotic relationship we all have with Mother Earth,” Dr Davis says.
JOIN THE WILDFLOWER WANDERINGS!
Wildflowering by Design
17 October to 30 November
Caloundra Regional Gallery
Curator Talk & Launch
18 October
Curator Talk, 1-2pm; launch 2.30-4.30pm
Caloundra Regional Gallery
Wildflower Walk & Draw Events
Sunday 19 October, 9am to 11.30am
Saturday 25 October, 9am to 11.30am
Kathleen McArthur Conservation Park, Currimundi Lake
Saturday 1 November, 8.30am to 11am
Glass House Scientific Area 1
Tickets $35 per person / $28 concession
All materials provided or bring your own.
Suitable for 14+ or young participants accompanied by a paying adult.
For details on guided walks and to book tickets, visit the website to book.
This Unique Wilderness: Campaigns for Kathleen McArthur Exhibition
Until 7 December
Bankfoot House, Glasshouse Mountains
Transformations: Art of the Scott Sisters
Until 7 December, Landsborough Muesum
