Susurrus group profile

Susurrus - a whisper, a murmur, the soft stir of the season.

(Pronunciation: soo-SUR-uhs)

As spring unfolds, subtle shifts in light, atmosphere and energy signal the start of something new. Nature awakens, days grow longer and a sense of renewal begins to emerge.

Kicking off the River of Art festival trail, this exhibition invited artists to explore and respond to the many expressions of change. Through diverse approaches and mediums, the works reflect moments of transformation, growth and transition, ranging from the quiet and contemplative to the bold and dynamic.

Artist Barry Jackson

Barry Jackson

Working predominantly in ceramics, Barry's sculptural practice explores the intersection of landscape, material and memory. Influenced by the Zen philosophy of wabi-sabi and First Nations understandings of connection to Country, his work reflects observations gathered while walking the forests and coastline around Tanja on the NSW South Coast. Through a range of ceramic materials and firing techniques, he creates forms that evoke the traces, textures and quiet rhythms left by tide, weather and time.
Artist Cath Bowdler

Cath Bowdler

Cath Bowdler is an artist, arts administrator and academic whose practice focuses on ceramic sculpture and environmental installation. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from Charles Darwin University, where she later taught.

From 1985 to 2005, she exhibited extensively throughout the Northern Territory and New South Wales, including at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.

Her work is represented in public and private collections, including Artbank, the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory and Charles Darwin University. After a decade working in regional galleries, she returned to artmaking in 2016. She recently won two awards at Sculpture Bermagui, including a solo exhibition at Belconnen Arts in 2027.

Artist Cathy Laudenbach

Cathy Laudenbach

A photomedia artist working in still and moving photographic images, Cathy Laudenbach is interested in revealing what is often overlooked or unseen. Her still works are often large in scale, allowing viewers to enter the space and discover details that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Man Made Typographies Series No. 3 is a digital image created by melding eight photographic files into a new landscape. The work speaks to both chaos and hope, reflecting Cath's belief that even in times of chaos, hope is always present.

Artist Erica Seccombe

Erica Seccombe

Erica Seccombe is an artist, educator and researcher based in semi-rural New South Wales on Ngambri and Ngunnawal Country. With more than 30 years of experience across the visual arts sector, her work is informed by a deep engagement with place, environment and creative practice. She is a Senior Lecturer in Art History and Theory at the Australian National University School of Art & Design.
Artist Greta Cooper. Image courtesy Mel Hill Photo.

Greta Cooper

Greta Cooper graduated from the Australian National University with a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours), majoring in Printmedia and Drawing. Working across printmaking, textiles, photography, painting and drawing, her practice explores relationships between people and the environment, with a particular interest in resilience and adaptation to climate change. Greta has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions across NSW and the ACT, including a solo exhibition at Moruya Mechanics Institute in 2022.
Artist - Leah Ann Early

Leah Ann Early

Leah Ann Early is a contemporary paper collage artist and teacher based in Narooma. Her work speaks with the dialogue of colour, shape and movement. Using 1960s and 70s publications to source paper, Leah celebrates the richness of vintage pigmentation and renews the ephemera to create a tangible, touchable story of softness in motion.

Artist Lisa Patroni

Lisa Patroni

Lisa Patroni is a South Coast NSW-based visual artist working on Yuin Country. Through oil and mixed-media painting, she explores long-term relationships with place, returning to familiar subjects such as lemon trees, orchids, birds and still lifes across changing seasons and years. Working materials-first, Patroni builds up and scrapes back paint, creating a porous surface that holds traces of earlier encounters. This sustained, close observation sits alongside a broader interest in the history of monochrome painting.

Patroni holds a Master of Fine Arts from the National Art School. Her work has been exhibited across Australia and Europe, including Liverpool Street Gallery and Mona Foma, and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia.

Artists Bernadette Davis and Jo Victoria

Luminescent Sea: Bernadette Davis  and Jo Victoria

Luminescent Sea is a new range of lighting products made collaboratively by South Coast artists, Jo Victoria and Bernadette Davis. This collaboration is a conscious effort to highlight the threats to our oceans. Australian porcelain is paired with collected marine debris rope which has been recorded into the Australian Marine Debris Initiative database.

Bernadette is a long time ocean advocate who uses her creative textile practice to highlight the threats to the marine environment. Jo’s ceramic practice is inspired by the ocean and together with Bernadette, Luminescent Sea Lighting emerged as a shared passion.

Artist Tessa Muskett

Tessa Muskett

Tessa Muskett is a Broulee-based visual artist with a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Textiles) from the University of Wollongong. Working in mixed media, she explores ideas of place through the symbols and imagery communities associate with particular locations. Using collage, textiles, paint and found materials, Tessa creates layered works that examine how familiar images are represented, repeated and reinterpreted. Inspired by the landscapes around her, she is interested in how visual symbols contribute to a sense of place. Her work has been exhibited across New South Wales, including as part of the River of Art Festival.