The exhibition invites visitors to stroll through a lush collection of paintings, textiles, sculptures, ceramics and new media. Other exhibiting artists include Margaret Olley and Michael Zavros.

Commonly associated with domestic settings and still life compositions, flowers continue to be reimagined and evoke contemporary concerns. Rearranged beholds the beauty of this ever-popular subject and looks beyond to explore notions of place, memory and history. The exhibition illuminates diverse perspectives, always acknowledging that flowers have long been cared for by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities as an integral part of Country.

To watch a video interview with Ashlee Becks, where she discusses her painting practice and the artwork included in Rearranged: Art of the Flower, please click here.

The exhibition continues at the Museum of Brisbane until 27 January, 2025.

The Brisbane Portrait Prize celebrates the city of Brisbane/Meeanjin and its people, telling the stories of the courageous, creative and passionate people who make up the city.

Ashlee is a finalist for her painting Home is not my own, a new work which forms part of a major new body of paintings to be exhibited at Artereal Gallery in early 2025.

The Brisbane Portrait Prize exhibition runs until 10 November, 2024 at the State Library of Queensland.

“I am an impasto painter specialising in the need to better understand and live with the self. These new paintings form part of a series of work investigating how materiality and painting can be used to explore and depict mental illness. The paintings include themes of self-imposed isolation, codependency, and loneliness within the home.

For my upcoming solo exhibition I will recreate my apartment in paintings. The paintings will include numerous self-portraits. The aim of these artworks is to provoke gentle contemplation amongst viewers about the toxicity that can sometimes fester within relationships to ourselves. It is hoped that by being transparent with the struggles that accompany mental illness, others will feel more comfortable to do the same.

Inspired by Realism and artists from Lucian Freud to Frida Kahlo, my self-portraits are not intended to be flattering. They aim to depict everyday life: its banality, beauty, and hardships. Through intricate details juxtaposed with loving, performative, and visceral paint strokes, I enable viewers to sense my presence as an artist.”