littlebunny1111
9 May - 8 June 2025
littlebunny1111
Esther Forest
Esther Forest, Untitled 2 (still from The Pet Shop), 2024, Digital image, 5184 x 2920px.
Esther Forest’s interactive installation littlebunny1111 invites viewers to consider what it means to craft an identity and alias in the virtual world. Through a collection of stop-motion animation, mixed media collages, digital prints, and puppetry, Forest delves into the blurred boundaries between the real and the imagined, particularly focusing on the complexities of online identities and self-representation in digital spaces.
The work critiques the ways in which we craft our online identities in environments that are hyperreal and entirely constructed, exploring how this shapes our understanding of social interaction. Forest also challenges negative, one-dimensional tropes about individuals on the schizophrenia spectrum in popular culture. They instead embrace nuanced, empathetic and alternative perspectives.
Esther Forest (they/them) is an emerging artist and filmmaker who was born in Gurambilbarra / Townsville, North Queensland, but has been based in Western Australia for the past decade. Forest’s diverse practice combines stop-motion animation, experimental film, handcrafted dioramas, puppetry, mixed media and digital techniques to explore the intersections of the real and imagined. Their unique approach to storytelling and world-building addresses themes of online culture, social interaction, and magical thinking, often with a focus on challenging stereotypes, particularly those related to the schizophrenia spectrum.
Also on display during this period
All Exhibitions9 May -
8 June 2025
Open Hours
Tues - Fri: 9am-5pm
Sat - Sun: 9am-1pm
Gallery closed Mondays, public holidays and during exhibition install weeks.
Follow our social media for updates.
Contact
408 Flinders Street,
Gurambilbarra (Townsville),
Qld, 4810 Australia
PO Box 2394,
Gurambilbarra (Townsville),
Qld, 4810 Australia
Send us a message here
Subscribe to Enews
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 Member & Signatory 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.
Help Us Elevate Regional Artists
We champion artists, amplifying their distinctive and authentic voices. We are an inclusive platform for independent, experimental, contemporary arts practice in local, national, and international arts landscapes. We have a thirty-six year history of connecting artists and audiences and we couldn't do it without your support.
Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts is registered as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) with the Australian Taxation Office. Donations to Umbrella are tax deductible for amounts of $2 or more. Click here to donate.
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.
