Meg Mader

Creatures Surround Me

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2 May - 13 June

Foyer Gallery

 

Building on techniques and ideas developed through her Guildhouse Catapult mentorship with artist Dan Withey, Meg presents this new body of work which embraces a looser, more instinctive approach to painting. Working across acrylic, printmaking and layered pattern, she weaves storytelling into richly textured surfaces that hum with movement and life.

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Based in the Clare Valley, Meg has spent nearly a decadeliving in a shed while building her home — an experience that shaped her deep connection to the creatures around her. From brown snakes indoors and a scorpion in her bed, to the flute-like call of the magpie at dawn, each encounter has fostered a complex mix of respect, fear and affection.

This series turns its focus to those everyday companions: birds, spiders, mice, snakes and more — some endearing, others unsettling. Each plays a vital role in the balance of life: snakes eat mice, magpies eat spiders, spiders eat flies, and bees pollinate the garden.

Through vibrant colour and layered pattern, Meg celebrates this interconnected ecosystem — the awe and the argh alike — revealing how even the smallest or most feared creatures contribute to the rhythm and resilience of country life.