Joint Winner - Samantha was based in Murrumbatemen, NSW when she won the Windmill Trust Scholarship. She works across a broad range of disciplines including sculpture, installation and photography.
Much of her work uses scale to consciously distort the viewer’s perception of what is real and what is reconstructed, with the architecture of the interior remaining a recurring theme. Her early work created three-dimensional models based on existing interior spaces that were documented and presented as large format photographs. Later images of real spaces, perceived as fictions were realised. Other works explore scale through sculptural interventions in public space and site-specific installation, including Stalemate (2015), an upscaled WWI toy tank captured in a lifesize diorama.
Samantha applied for the Windmill when the opportunity arose for a solo exhibition in Adelaide in 2006 and needed the support towards production and exhibition costs. Samantha said “I saw the Scholarship as an excellent opportunity for artists living outside the major cities to develop work for a broader audience. I received the Windmill Scholarship at an important stage of my development. The momentum I gained from exhibiting interstate remains an important aspect of my practice. After receiving the Windmill, I had the confidence to approach galleries and apply for residencies that have fostered contact with different artists and communities.“
Most recently Samantha exhibited in Sculpture by the Sea at Bondi in 2015 and was also fortunate to be awarded a Helen Lempriere Scholarship that supported the construction and presentation of the Sculpture by the Sea work, along with overseas travel and research. She is currently travelling in Europe, soaking up experiences and collecting ideas and images to take back to the studio in Canberra.
