Gracia Haby
(b. 1975, Melbourne, Victoria. Lives and works in Melbourne)
Louise Jennison
(b. 1976, Melbourne, Victoria. Lives and works in Melbourne)

Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison have been collaborating as Gracia and Louise for more than twenty years. As artists and wildlife carers, their practice frequently concerns the natural world, addressing themes of conservation and biodiversity through artists’ books, zines, collages, prints, drawings and, more recently, collage installations.

The remaking of things, 2023, a new work commissioned for Melbourne Now, is Gracia and Louise’s largest installation to date. On level two of The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, a large-scale collage drawn from 100 works in the NGV Collection adorns the walls from ceiling to floor. The scene depicts a pocket of restored eucalyptus forest habitat, constructed using a series of images drawn from the NGV Collection. A combination of digital collage on paper and foil stock, The remaking of things builds on the methods explored in the pair’s recent work, Ripples in the open, 2018–19, with cyclic sound and lighting design signalling gradual transitions from morning to night — and back again — in the world represented on the walls. The outcome is a message of the importance of restored habitat, in particular for the Grey-headed flying fox on the banks of the Birrarung. An interactive collage activity created by the artists especially for gallery visitors will be in the centre of the room.

In their roles as wildlife carers, for Bat Rescue Bayside, Warriors 4 Wildlife and Wildlife Victoria, Gracia and Louise fostered a number of grey-headed flying fox pups in late 2022 and early 2023. With the duo’s practice percolating well beyond the gallery walls, the opening of Melbourne Now signals the pups’ first flights with the Yarra Bend colony, a familiar and cherished sight for many local residents.

Gracia and Louise’s long-running collaboration began with a shared love of paper and its adaptable, tactile properties that enable all manner of outcomes, from the playful to the poetic. Their work can be found nationally in collections including the National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of Ballarat, Melbourne Museum, National Gallery of Australia, National Library of Australia, State Library of New South Wales, State Library Victoria, State Library of Queensland, as well as international galleries and private collections. They have been commissioned by the Ace Hotel, The Australian Ballet, Australian Poetry, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, State Library of Victoria and more.