Shifting Ground a groundbreaking exhibition

Jackie Masters, Rainforest, 2020 Hillside slip clay, various glazes including iron matte and black with variegated green volcanic glaze section on exterior. Photo courtesy of the artist

Scenic Rim Regional Council is pleased to present Shifting Ground, a groundbreaking touring exhibition curated by Scenic Rim artist and researcher Larissa Warren which debuts at The Centre Beaudesert next month.

Delivered in partnership with Council and Museums & Galleries Queensland, the free exhibition opens to the public on Saturday 2 August and runs until 11 October 2025. 

It features work by artists Pie Bolton (VIC), Veronica Cay (QLD), Vicki Grima (NSW), Stephanie James-Manttan (SA), Nicolette Johnson (QLD), Yen Yen Lo (VIC), Jackie Masters (WA), Pru Morrison (QLD), Julie Pennington (ACT), Ulrica Trulsson (QLD), Larissa Warren (QLD), and Sarah Zalewski (QLD).

Shifting Ground is a celebratory exhibition that explores how clay, as both material and metaphor, can carry stories across time, connecting past makers with present-day artists. By sharing locally sourced clays, material research, and community stories, this project invites reflection on resilience, place-based practice, and the unseen labour of creative women in regional Australia.

Shifting Ground showcases a stunning selection of ceramic works by 12 contemporary Australian artists, alongside a poignant collection of historical pieces by pioneering women potters from the Tamborine Mountain region. Each piece is crafted from Tamborine Mountain’s native volcanic clays, uniting artists – both past and present – and highlighting the deep connection between place, material, and tradition.

This exhibition builds on Larrisa Warren’s 2020 project Wild Women, Wild Clay, which was born out of extended periods of isolation during the global pandemic. Her research uncovered rich and fascinating stories of female potters who lived in relative isolation on Tamborine Mountain from the 1940s to 1980s, digging raw clays from their backyards to create decorative ceramics to use and sell from their home galleries.

Through a process of curiosity, enquiry and experimentation, Larissa discovered that these clays, much like the women who historically used them, were unique, tough and resilient.

Wild Women, Wild Clay inspired Larissa to connect with female artists she admired across Australia, sharing her research and the native Tamborine Mountain clays with them. Each artist responded to the different geographical, historical, social and creative aspects of her project in fresh and inspired ways, bringing a contemporary perspective to this captivating story while honouring the women who helped shape it: Frances Carnegie, Doris Aagaard, and Joyce and Isobel Morris.

Larissa explained: “The exhibition explores how clay, as both material and metaphor, can carry stories across time, connecting past makers with present-day artists. By sharing locally sourced clays, material research, and community stories, this project invites reflection on resilience, place-based practice, and the unseen labour of creative women in regional Australia.”

“This exhibition truly highlights the intricate thought processes behind the creation of these ceramics, and the realisation of the artists’ visions is nothing short of inspiring,” Larissa said.

“It was rewarding to witness each artist’s development and the distinct approach they brought to the mountain clays. [Tamborine Mountain] Locals will recognise the iconic red earth.”

For art educators, the exhibition provides an excellent professional development opportunity through the  Landscape Vessels workshop on Thursday 21 August at The Centre Beaudesert.

Following its showing in the Scenic Rim, Shifting Ground will tour nationally to 12 venues in Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania and Western Australia.

Scenic Rim's Community Arts and Culture Portfolio Councillor Kerri Cryer said the national tour provided an exciting opportunity to celebrate the region's pioneering female potters and the way in which contemporary artists are creating their own visual stories using the same Tamborine Mountain clays.

“The Shifting Ground exhibition has an educational element to it that generates interest linked to the legacy of Tamborine Mountain’s female potters," she said.

"The generous funding received from the Visions of Australia program will allow more people to appreciate Larissa’s valuable research and how she has combined natural art, history and culture as it is expressed through the creative talents of other female artists.

"Artists play an important role in our communities and culture, so a national tour that promotes the artwork of women and also has as its centrepiece Tamborine clays is the first of its kind for the Scenic Rim.

"Credit to Larissa, as her work proudly puts female artists, including women from diverse cultural and First Nations backgrounds, centre stage where they belong."

For more information on Shifting Ground and its national tour schedule, visit  https://magsq.com.au/touring-exhibitions/

Shifting Ground is a touring exhibition curated by Larissa Warren and presented in partnership with Scenic Rim Regional Council and Museums & Galleries Queensland. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government's Visions of Australia program. Museums & Galleries Queensland is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.