“Thinking Inside the Box”

Works by Alison Mackay

Exploring the eclectic interiors of ‘The Artists’ Houses’ in Far North Queensland, Alison Mackay’s distinctive paintings on unfolded domestic packaging offer a highly individual approach to art-making. The irregular shape of these tiny panoramas highlights the dimensionality of each space, while, up close, the lovingly observed details celebrate their unique décor.

The unfolded packaging – repurposed tea and drug packets, food and takeaway containers and collaged book pages – shows the surrounding circumstances for the artist. Books being read, food consumed and even Covid test packets from the height of the pandemic when some of the works were made.

Referencing concepts of recycling and consumer culture, these works are both an exploration and celebration of the places in which we live and the material things that surround us.

(Alison was supported by a Shoalhaven Arts Board grant, 2023).