Artist Justine Wallace has been working with clay for over three decades. Her Mud Monsters series consists of ceramic vessels for succulents, each one a unique “plant guardian” inspired by her exploration of how the climate crisis affects the human psyche. Specifically, her work reflects the diverse survival strategies that individuals develop, according to the interplay between the amygdala, emotional memory and deep temporal lobe structures.
Justine spent part of her childhood in Castlemaine with her uncle, father, and grandmother. The recovering bushland, water races, abandoned quarries, and the creature lore found in her uncle and father’s artworks left a lasting impression on her. Over the past thirty years as a sculptor, these influences have reappeared in her work, especially since her permanent return to Castlemaine in 2012.
