Bundanon

Natalie O’Connor, an artist, researcher, and educator, draws upon her extensive background in the international colour manufacturing industry to inform her practice.

Holding a Bachelor of Education and a Master’s degree, she earned a PhD from UNSW with her thesis, The Nature of Redness- A Practice-Based Research into Red Pigments to Offer a New Understanding of Material Colour. O’Connor’s focus lies in the fragility of colour, and its connection to place.

Jo Mellor, an emerging artist and researcher, holds an MFA (Research) and BFA (First Class Honours) from UNSW and a Fine Arts Diploma from Parsons, New York.

Her multidisciplinary practice—spanning textiles, installation, painting, and film—explores socially engaged art, activism, and environmental and cultural issues around Broken Hill and Menindee, NSW. Collaborating with Ngiyampaa and Barkandji Aboriginal communities, her work examines perceptions of Country connected to the mining town of Broken Hill, the Darling River and Menindee Lakes. She has exhibited in Australia, New York, and London.  Mellor was awarded the 2024 Australia and New Zealand Saatchi Art for Change Prize from M&C Saatchi Group and Saatchi Art Gallery.

In Residence at Bundanon

We aim to develop a collaborative process whereby Natalie will develop a series of colour studies with Jo after consultation with traditional aboriginal Elders and research of the Shoalhaven area. Natalie’s focus will be on creating the paper surfaces with saturated colours and Jo will respond to these surfaces with her thread. Some surfaces will be bound together, and others will require repair. This is the unpredictable nature of how pigments interact with the paper and how colour can bring a deeper understanding to a place.