LISA WAUP
I WONDER YOU
29 August - 3 October 2026
Opening 2-4pm Saturday 29 August
I Wonder You brings together a series of works that reflect on the invisible threads that bind us across generations and through memory. The exhibition explores the relationships between the seen and unseen, drawing on recurring motifs of spiders and stars to speak of connection and belonging.
The spider becomes both a maker and a messenger. Through the patient act of weaving, she reminds us that every thread is connected to another, creating intricate networks that hold stories, histories and lives together. Its web becomes a metaphor for family, kinship and the fragile yet enduring bonds that continue to shape who we are.
Stars appear as symbols of ancestors, those who have travelled before us, whose presence remains constant even when unseen. They offer a guiding light that remain present long after loved ones have passed. They offer comfort and continuity, illuminating pathways through grief while affirming that our connections extend beyond the physical world.
Central to the exhibition is when summer rains, a series of screen paintings that reflect on the loss of a loved one and the quiet ways grief settles into our lives. Summer rain is unexpected, arriving at a time when it is least anticipated, much like moments of remembrance that emerge without warning. Within the work, stars become a constellation of ancestors whose presence endures, offering guidance, protection and hope.
I Wonder You acknowledges and reflects on those who have shaped us, those we carry with us, and the unseen connections that continue to weave through our lives. Like rain that nourishes the earth or a web catching the morning light, the connections we hold with one another continue to exist, fragile yet enduring, across time and place.
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Lisa Waup is a mixed-cultural First Nations artist and curator, born in Narrm/Melbourne, whose multidisciplinary practice encompasses a diverse range of media, including weaving, printmaking, body adornment, sculpture, fashion and public art. With a deep connection to the symbolic power of materials, her work reflects her personal experiences, family history, Country and broader historical narratives.
Through her practice, Waup weaves together threads of lost history, ancestral relationships, motherhood and the passage of time, culminating in contemporary expressions that speak to her past, present and future. In her words, “As a multidisciplinary artist, I’m guided to utilise so many different mediums—they really talk to me—and in turn they’re able to explain my story in different ways, they all connect with each other. Material diversity is a big part of what I do in my practice, I’m happy to move across various media and am always open to exploring new materials and approaches that connect to the work I am making at the time.”
Waup holds a Master of Contemporary Art from the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. She has exhibited across Australia and internationally with solo exhibitions at Gertrude Glasshouse, the Australian Print Workshop, Kluge-Ruhe, MARS Gallery, Linden New Art Gallery, ReDot Gallery, and the Koorie Heritage Trust. She has participated in group exhibitions including at Buxton Contemporary, TarraWarra Museum of Art, Gertrude Contemporary, the National Gallery of Victoria, and the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art.
Waup has been the recipient of several residencies and awards. In 2024, she undertook the Kluge-Ruhe Artist Residency in Virginia, USA, and the Getty Print Program in Washington, USA. In 2023, she received the Paul Selzer Exhibition and Prize, Fiona & Sidney Myer Gallery at the Victorian College of the Arts.
Her work is held in public collections in Australia including the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; the Koorie Heritage Trust, Melbourne; Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne; Museums & Collections, the University of Melbourne; Mecca Collection; Artbank; Deakin University, Melbourne; Bayside City Council, Melbourne; Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo; McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park, Langwarrin; Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Mornington; Warrnambool Art Gallery, Warrnambool; and Ararat Gallery TAMA, Ararat.
Lisa Waup, after ever here, 2025, photograph: Tim Hillier
Lisa Waup portrait, photographer: Hayley Millar-Baker