Artists

Sadhbha Cockburn is an Irish-born artist and educator, living and working upon Gadigal country in Sydney, NSW.

She holds a BFA in Painting and an MFA in Drawing from the National Art School, and has a background in biomedical sciences. Working across sculpture, drawing and writing, Cockburn’s focus is on how material poetry can be used to draw both artist and viewer into closer connection with their surroundings. Made predominantly from found and biodegradable materials, her sculptures juxtapose fabricated industrial objects with domestic handicraft to draw attention to the labour of creation. Her current fascination is with felting seed fibres, spinning silk, collecting rusted nails and stringing her hair into thread. When not engaged in making, you will find her walking, foraging or mulling over words.

In Residence at Bundanon

I aim to use this residency to create a collection of poetry inspired by materials found and felt at the Bundanon site. I will then use these as inspiration for later textiles-based sculptures using techniques of stringing and spinning thread. This will contribute to my current PhD research into sculpture as a form of affective ecopoetics. It is my hope that, through the seeds of thought that will be planted, I will be able to create new works of material poetry that connect people to this place from afar.