WINDOW ROOM : OLIVIA O'CONNOR

Exhibition Dates : 7 - 19 October 2025
Opening Reception : Wed 8 October 2025, 6:00 - 8:30pm

Chippy Thief captures a familiar and mischievous seaside moment — a life-sized seagull triumphantly clutching a stolen hot chip. Hand-carved from timber using traditional tools and techniques, the work invites an immediate smile, evoking humour, nostalgia, and memories of salty air and open skies.

While playful on first glance, Chippy Thief belongs to the Shoreline Guardians series, which reflects on the delicate balance between human life and the natural world. These sculptures preserve fleeting scenes from coastal life, celebrating their charm while also acknowledging the rising tides and human interventions reshaping our shores.

Through this piece, I hope to spark both recognition and reflection: a reminder of simple, joyful encounters with nature, and an invitation to consider the changing landscapes in which they occur. Like much of my work, it seeks to pause time for a moment — encouraging viewers to protect the environments that hold their treasured memories.

Olivia O’Connor is a sculptural artist based in the rolling hills of South Gippsland, Victoria. Through the traditional craft of woodcarving, Olivia reveals forms hidden within timber, using a meditative process guided by the material itself to make her contemporary sculptures. Inspired by the lush landscape and vibrant wildlife around her, her work explores themes of space and connection to a landscape to which she does not have a generational bond, reflecting her personal journey of understanding and belonging. Recently, Olivia has expanded her practice to include works on paper, experimenting with wood engraving, woodblock carving, and printing. This exploration allows her to translate her connection to nature and her artistic themes into a new medium, enriching her practice.