Conversations with Nature
21 March - 4 May 2025
Conversations with Nature
Louise Plint
Louise Plint, Wrapped rock, 2021, Found object and loop-weaved rafia, 17 x 12 x 5cm. Photograph: Amanda Galea.
Multidisciplinary artist Louise Plint considers the processes of basketry and weaving as conduits for a working dialogue with nature. She builds up her forms with fibre, form and texture, but finds that the materials also contribute, taking on their own directions which inform the final outcomes. It is this creative process that excites and intoxicates Plint the most, and she takes delight in obsessively gathering, processing and weaving plant fibres. The artist also researches traditional techniques and draws inspiration from her contemporaries, including artists Joe Hogan, Virginia Kaiser and Marion Gaemers. This research motivates Plint to keep the ancient craft alive and to incorporate contemporary approaches and elements into her work.
Developed in collaboration with Umbrella's curatorial staff, this exhibition aims to highlight the strength of Plint’s weaving practice within her broader oeuvre.
Louise Plint is multidisciplinary artist based on Warrgamay, Nywaigi & Bandjin Country / Ingham. She was born in North Queensland, the second of six children to Dutch and Italian migrant parents. Plint grew up in a rural farming community, but moving to Ingham in 1982 broadened her experience and professional standing within the local art scene. The artist graduated from James Cook University Townsville with a Bachelor of Visual Arts in 1992, majoring in painting. Plint has been a full-time practising artist for over a decade, operating out of Elements Art Studio, an active workshop space and studio. She is also a key figure in local arts groups (including the Ingham Art Action Group and RADF assessments) and has supported the ongoing development of the TYTO Gallery.
Plint has exhibited widely in North Queensland, and has works held in the collections of James Cook University and Hinchinbrook Shire Council along with numerous private collections. She was awarded the Hinchinbrook Art Competition’s Painting Prize (2014) and twice the Hinchinbrook Art Competition’s overall First Prize (1993 and 2015). Plint coordinated the Altered Book Exhibition in 2020, which was exhibited at TYTO and then Drill Hall Studio in Gurambilbarra / Townsville.
Also on display during this period
All Exhibitions
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Qld, 4810 Australia
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Qld, 4810 Australia
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Acknowledgement of Country
Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts respectfully acknowledges the Wulgurukaba of Gurambilbarra and Yunbenun and the surrounding groups of our region - Bindal, Gugu Badhan, Nywaigi, Warrgamay, Bandjin and Gudjal - as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather, share and celebrate local creative practice. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first people of Australia. They have never ceded sovereignty and remain strong in their enduring connection to land and Culture.
Umbrella is a Dealer Member of the Indigenous Art Code. This means we are committed to fair and ethical trade with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, and transparency in the promotion and sale of artwork. As a Dealer Member and signatory to the Code we must act fairly, honestly, professionally and in good conscience in all direct or indirect dealings with artists.
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Acknowledgements
Umbrella is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, part of the Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy, and by the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, state and territory governments. | Umbrella is supported by the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation and receives funding from Creative Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund. | Townsville City Council is a funding partner of Umbrella's program.
