Beatrice is a contemporary Australian sculptor whose work engages with a range of themes including mythology (particularly Norse and Greek) and migration.
For the number of years, Beatrice has been examining themes of migration, journey and travel in her practice. The theme is inspired by contemporary events as well as more personal family histories. Her parents, like so many Europeans, in the aftermath of the Second World War, migrated to Australia. Traveling by boat, their journey took almost two months.
Beatrice’s work explores the commonalities of the migrant experience: excitement, uncertainty and vulnerability. Her work is informed by her experience as a woman. Travel and life journeys are poetically evoked rather than described. The artist seeks to create a space for reflective and introspective dialogues, rather than simply engaging with clichéd narratives of migration (notably spectacular media images of suffering individuals and groups). The outcome of this reflection are the bronze sculptures.
Beatrice also uses embroidery and needlework in her work. Traces of stitching and details of textures of fabrics - traditional female responsibilities - are visible on her bronzes and ceramics. The delicate gestures of hand-crafting soft and ephemeral materials (fibre and fabric) are by a series of processes (moulding, casting, and patination) changed into hard and permanent materials (bronze and ceramics).
Her work is far broader that any specific migrant situation – it is about the human condition of most of the Australian population, and a global condition that crosses the centuries, a response to food scarcity, war and economic opportunities.
Recently, Beatrice has engaged in a number of collaborative works.