Fiona Currey-Billyard | Earth Canvas Resident Artist

7 September - 4 October | E3 Art Space

About

For the RAD x Earth Canvas Residency, Fiona Currey-Billyard’s project, Shadow Objects, is focused on a non-invasive, sustainable means of recreating surfaces, structures and objects from the regenerative farm in the studio.

Through the creation of a series of sculptural paper moulds, the project will record the surfaces of trees, paddocks, rocky outcrops and outbuildings on the property, drawing on the 19th-century technique developed by Pierre Victor Lottin de Laval (Lottin). His method of recording archaeological and architectural details was a reaction to the excesses of previous expeditions, which removed objects from their context as curiosities and for financial gain. Lottin used a water-based paper mixture moulded directly onto surfaces to create transportable moulds that preserved intricate forms and textures. Lottin’s “lottinoplastie” captured not only physical detail but also the essence of place, a fragile record of form and context.

Inspired by this historical process, Fiona’s project seeks to reinterpret Lottin’s method within a local context, exploring ideas of memory, impermanence, gentle practice, sustainability and connection to landscape. Using papers and pulp combined with natural materials sourced from the farm, Fiona will create moulds that hold within them the material, physical memory and emotional residue of the site. These additions of organic matter will transform each work into more than a mere surface impression; they will become embedded traces of the place itself, linking the artwork directly to its origin.

The process will involve fieldwork on the property, where Fiona will apply the paper mixture onto surfaces to capture the marks of time and use. The project is conceived as a collaborative process where artist, sponsor and place combine to determine the final forms. Once dried and removed, these moulds will be transported to the studio for further refinement and assembly.

Exhibited pieces will be presented as suspended or wall-mounted reliefs that evoke both presence and absence, encapsulating the memory of the farm. Each piece will stand as document and ghost, a physical impression of the site and a poetic reflection on its possibilities.

Through this work, Fiona aims to consider the farm not as a fixed landscape but as a living archive in transition. The paper moulds will act as fragile witnesses, preserving textures that may one day be lost, yet are transformed by the materials of their own making. Shadow Objects offers viewers a tangible connection between object and origin, surface and history, inviting contemplation of time, decay and the enduring trace.

To learn more about Fiona Currey-Billyard and her work, please visit: fionacurreybillyard.com

^{This Residency is presented by Wagga Wagga Art Gallery in partnership with Earth Canvas.}