Gabby Malpas
1966, NZ AustraliaGreat Southern land: Banksias of Sydney, 2025
Watercolour and gouaches on a full sheet of Arches
57cm x 76cm
A study of Banksia in Chinese celadon and Sancai wares. Comon crow, Blue Sydney triangle butterflies and a Sydney tiger moth are in attendance. A Sydney violin beetle is on...
A study of Banksia in Chinese celadon and Sancai wares. Comon crow, Blue Sydney triangle butterflies and a Sydney tiger moth are in attendance. A Sydney violin beetle is on the tablecloth – in a scribbly gum pattern. A striped marsh frog sits in a teacup. A nod to my NZ roots is represented by the tussock moth on the right hand side.
Chinese sancai and celadon ceramics are often overlooked by western collectors but are enjoying new interest.
Chinese have been documented in Australia since 1818. Chinese were excluded from immigration since the 1850s until 1972.
In 2025 I’d like to think we have evolved enough to appreciate the beauty and heritage of these wares and the cultural richness Chinese and Asian immigration has brought to Australia. As an immigrant, it took me 10 years to paint a Banksia. Arriving in 2003 – I was astonished when I first saw one: they went against everything I thought I knew about botany.
Chinese sancai and celadon ceramics are often overlooked by western collectors but are enjoying new interest.
Chinese have been documented in Australia since 1818. Chinese were excluded from immigration since the 1850s until 1972.
In 2025 I’d like to think we have evolved enough to appreciate the beauty and heritage of these wares and the cultural richness Chinese and Asian immigration has brought to Australia. As an immigrant, it took me 10 years to paint a Banksia. Arriving in 2003 – I was astonished when I first saw one: they went against everything I thought I knew about botany.
