Title: Flame Leaves
Year: 2018
Project Type: From Nature Exhibition
Location: Gasworks Art Park. Port Melbourne
Materials: Handmade paper, beeswax, hessian, string.
Flame leaves is constructed from a series of hand-made paper leaves, layered and gathered together in a cascading spill on a vertical axis. Hand-made hemp, kozo and unrushi papers have been sourced, cut and immersed in pure Australian beeswax. This work was created for ‘From Nature’, an outdoor exhibition of living sculptures and organic land-artworks presented by more than 30 innovative artists who merge art with the natural environment.
https://www.art-almanac.com.au/nature-2018-gasworks-arts-park/
Title: Police Point Artist in Residence
Year: 2018
Project Type: Artist Residency
Location: Gatekeepers Cottage, Police Point, Point Nepean National Park
A two-week residency at the Point Nepean Quarantine Station, Point Nepean National Park. Provided by the Mornington Peninsula Shire, the Gatekeepers Cottage at Police Point has been set up as an artist’s studio and residence. A very unique place of both Indigenous and colonial historical significance, with layer upon layer of imprints on the land.
Title: Bend and Sway
Year: 2016
Project Type: Stonington Art Town Exhibition.
Location: Chapel off Chapel Gallery VIC
Materials: Recycled fabric remnants and zips, threads, copper, wood
Bend and Sway is an installation work developed in situ at Fool Clothing Boutique in Greville St, Prahran, as part of the annual Stonnington Art Town Event.
This work’s beginning point is in the use of the vibrant fabric offcuts from the current Fool collection, which is designed and made in Melbourne.
This work draws inspiration from the cycles of time and fashion, in particular the changing face of Greville St and its many incarnations. Bend and Sway explores the desire to renew, reshape and rethink with our continued impulse to create.
This year, Mia participated in her third Art Town Exhibition. Over two weekends, invited artists create works inspired by what’s around them while making the street their own very public studio. Visitors can interact with painters, collagists, photographers and illustrators as these unexpected moments of beauty, amusement, reflection and intrigue unfold.
Title: A Window into Wurun: Children Connecting to Reconciliation
Year: 2016
Project Type: Digital Project, commissioned by the Yarra Ranges Shire
Location: Filmed at Wurun Child and Family Place Healesville
Materials: Three-minute digital work.
Creative Collaboraters: Editing & Effects - Andrea Werner and DOP - Martin Reddy
Mia was invited by the Yarra Ranges Shire to create a digital work exploring the ways that local Aboriginal values of Respect, Caring and Sharing are coming to life in Aboriginal cultural programs at Wurun Child and Family Place.
This digital story shows how the journey of Reconciliation is having a positive impact on young children’s engagement and learning in their early years of education.
Wurun Child and Family Place is a partnership between early years, health and Aboriginal services. Since 2010, they have been working together under a model of Reconciliation.
Produced in 2016 during Reconciliation Week, it features children at Robyn Jane Children’s Centre, Boorai Indigenous Early Years and Haig Avenue Preschool.
Title: Platypus’s Waterhole – Dulaiwurrong Tamboree
Year: 2016
Project Type: Digital Project, commissioned by the Yarra Ranges Shire, in conjuction with State Government of Victoria, Communities for Platypus and Healesville Community Indigenous Services Association (HICSA).
Location: Filmed at various locations in Healesville.
Materials: Two-minute Digital Work.
Creative Collaborators: Editing & Effects - Andrea Werner, DOP -Martin Reddy, Sound Design - Matt Coldrick.
Mia was invited to develop and produce a two-minute promotional DVD to encourage healthy habitat for the platypus through the reduction of litter in our waterways.
Working with HICSA youth group (6-15-year-olds), we recorded and filmed a song written in Wurundjeri language by Aunty Joy Murphy. This song depicts the iconic platypus and other water creatures that are loved in our waterways.
We filmed at Healesville Sanctuary, Badger Weir, Badger Creek and HICSA and collaborated with Plastic Bag Free Healesville and Healesville Environment Watch Inc (HEWI).
Title: Sassafras Sweet Co Store Interior and Light Installation
Year: 2012-2015
Project Type: Complete new store interior for three stores, including custom-designed light fittings.
Location: Sassafras Sweet Co stores in Olinda, Sassafras and Hawthorn. VIC
Materials: Photography, vinyl printing, ribbon, beads, found objects, wood, perspex.
In 2012, Mia was commissioned to redesign the Sassafras Sweet Co store interiors in their Sassafras and Olinda stores, followed by their Hawthorn store in the Lido Complex in 2015. The scope of the project included concept design, visual merchandising design, lighting design followed by full project management and implementation of the project. The lighting feature was designed to bring a special hand-made presence to the space, reflecting the quality of the Sweet Co products and the lovely nostalgia of being immersed in the magic of a sweet store.
Title: Ruby Sky Installation
Year: 2013
Project Type: Interior Installation for e.g. etal
Location: e.g. etal contemporary jewellery and objects. Flinders Lane, Melbourne, VIC
Materials: Chicken wire, spray paint, paper.
Mia’s third collaboration with the wonderful e.g. etal, this installation celebrated 10 years of e.g. etal in Flinders Lane. Mia worked on-site with an assistant team from RMIT to create a beautiful, stormy, ruby sky, with precious parcels gathered up in the clouds!
Title: Silk Waves
Year: 2013
Project Type: Stonnington Art Town Exhibition.
Location: Chapel off Chapel Gallery, VIC
Materials: Offcuts of raw and printed silk, wire, wool, threads, collected keys and beads.
PRIZE WINNER: This piece won the People’s Choice Award
Silk Waves is an installation work developed in situ at Cylk clothing boutique in Chapel Street, South Yarra. The work’s beginning point is in the use of raw and printed silk offcuts from the current Cylk Made in Melbourne collection.
The work reflects on the historical path of hand-made clothes and objects and the traditional use of natural fibres. Silk Waves explores the contemporary awareness to reduce, reuse and recycle, and the importance of sustainable and ethical fashion as reflected in the Cylk ethos.
This year, Mia participated in her second Art Town Exhibition. Over two weekends, invited artists created works inspired by what’s around them while making the street their own very public studio. Visitors interacted with painters, collagists, photographers and illustrators as these unexpected moments of beauty, amusement, reflection and intrigue unfolded.
Mia spent two weekends in the window of the Cylk boutique, stitching and building the work, engaging with passersby, and talking with people about the Art Town project and her work.
Title: Sharing our Stories
Year: 2013
Project Type: Digital Project and Installation.
Location: Permanent Installation at Healesville Library, and available as a DVD.
Materials: 30-minute digital work and art installation.
Sharing our Stories is a digital project and installation commissioned by the Yarra Ranges Shire, Eastern Regional Libraries and Healesville Indigenous Community Services Association. Project artists Mia Rappel and Andrea Werner worked with the local community for a year, developing content for the project. The work draws on Interviews, artworks, local events, historical images and an exploration of the Healesville landscape.
Title: Many Threads @ Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe
Year: 2012
Project Type: Sculptural Installation.
Location: Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, W.A.
Materials: Wool, threads, fishing line, weights.
Mia’s work Many Threads, developed in the Art Town project (see Many Threads Art Town page), was accepted to be a part of the 2012 Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe show.
In this wonderful natural environment, Many Threads truly became a live kinetic sculpture; moving, spinning and shaking with breezes and the touches of viewers interacting with it. The work was on the sand below the surf life saving club and utilised the wooden shade boxes as suspension points.
Mia and her team spent two full days installing the work, with lots of swims in the ocean to cool down from the heat! The installation began with building a false ceiling of fishing line and suspension cord, followed by suspending each piece of the work, completed by dug-in sand bags for weights.
A wonderful experience was had working with a welcoming team of volunteers and organisers, bringing together this logistical triumph of a free public exhibition.
Title: Mali’s Crimson Song
Year: 2012
Project Type: Mali in the City Public Art Project by Melboune Zoo
Location: Mia’s work was situated in the Fitzroy Gardens, and now resides in Kangaroo Ground at a private residence.
Materials: Fibre Glass Mali, Paper, Glue, Varnish.
Mali in the City is a public art project celebrating 150 years of Melbourne Zoo. In conjunction with Wild at Art the project brings art to the streets and aims to raise awareness and funds for the Zoos conservation program. Mali is the first female Elephant to be born at the Melbourne Zoo
50 life size fiber glass Mali’s, created by 46 artists exploring themes of conversation, ecology, sustainability and life. Artists worked on their Mali’s at the Melbourne Zoo in the old directors quarters, followed by a 5 week exhibition across the Melbourne CBD, with a map and an app to explore and see all the works. The Mali’s then spent a month in the grounds of the Zoo, followed by a very successful auction.
Mia’s Mali is titled Crimson Song, and was created by hand cutting and collaging her collected papers. Mali’s Crimson Song is inspired by the weaving together of the many parts to create one. Just as the colours burst into life from reds to golds, blending and interacting, so to does our world: in our landscapes, our communities and in our selves.
Title: Summer Cave Installation
Year: 2012
Project Type: Interior installation for e.g. etal
Location: e.g. etal contemporary jewellery and objects. Flinders Lane, Melbourne, VIC.
Materials: Cardboard tubes, glue, wire.
Mia’s 2nd collaboration with e.g etal, creating a Summer Cave in their Flinders Lane Basement store. Mia worked on site with an assistant team from RMIT designing, building and installing the cave forms.
Title: The Passage
Year: 2011
Project Type: Solo Exhibition.
Location: Carbon Black Gallery, Prahran, VIC.
Materials: Paper and resin collage, ink on paper, paper, wire, thread
Mia’s 2011 solo exhibition of 22 new works showed at Carbon Black Gallery, Prahran. Works included The Passage & Flux series of new collages created with hand cut papers, photography and resin, an ink on paper nature series, and a paper sculptural installation titled The Vines.
Read 2 responses to Mias work from Author Jess Huon and Arts Journalist Harb Gill plus articles in the The Stonnington Leader & The Melbourne Weekly.
Title: The Passage
Year: 2011
Project Type: Solo Exhibition.
Location: Carbon Black Gallery, Prahran, VIC.
Materials: Paper and resin collage, ink on paper, paper, wire, thread.
Mia’s 2011 solo exhibition of 22 new works showed at Carbon Black Gallery, Prahran. Works included The Passage & Flux series of new collages created with hand cut papers, photography and resin, an ink on paper nature series, and a paper sculptural installation titled The Vines.
Read 2 responses to Mias work from Author Jess Huon and Arts Journalist Harb Gill plus articles in the The Stonnington Leader & The Melbourne Weekly.
Title: The Passage
Year: 2011
Project Type: Solo Exhibition.
Location: Carbon Black Gallery, Prahran, VIC
Materials: Paper and resin collage, ink on paper, paper, wire, thread.
Mia’s 2011 solo exhibition of 22 new works showed at Carbon Black Gallery, Prahran. Works included The Passage & Flux series of new collages created with hand cut papers, photography and resin, an ink on paper nature series, and a paper sculptural installation titled The Vines.
Read 2 responses to Mias work from Author Jess Huon and Arts Journalist Harb Gill plus articles in the The Stonnington Leader & The Melbourne Weekly.
Title: Many Threads @ Art Town
Year: 2011
Project Type: Stonnington Art Town Exhibition.
Location: Chapel off Chapel Gallery, VIC
Materials: Wool, threads, fishing line.
PRIZE WINNER: this piece won the Peoples Choice Award
The 2011 Art Town Project & Exhibition, is an exploration and celebration of the creativity and history of the Chapel St precinct. Artists responded to the theme 'the challenge of change', creating artwork live over 2 weekends in the streets of Prahran, culminating in an Exhibition at Chapel off Chapel.
Mia’s piece is an exploration of the many threads that weave together to create both our community and our personal lives. Mia set up camp in the Grattan Gardens, Greville St, where with the help of friends, family and passers by she weaved the many coloured threads into a collection of spheres to be assembled later in the gallery space.
Title: The Game @ Woodford Folk Festival
Year: 2010
Project Type: Large Scale interactive Public Art Installation.
Location: Woodford Folk Festival, QLD.
Materials: Various
In November/ December 2010 Mia had the adventure of working with theatre performer, producer and mastermind Tim Monley. Creating a series of booths for the interactive performance project The Game which took place at the Woodford Folk Festival.
Brisbane artist Jan van Dyke was commissioned to illustrate a deck of The Game playing cards, Mia and Tim then devised and created the series of booths where these real life characters would reside, waiting to be unlocked by the keen game players.
The pre production was an operation of creative logistics with construction taking place in Melbourne, Brisbane and Woodford. Mia coordinated the pre production and installation working with an amazing crew of volunteers led by the young and talented artist Ruth Twardy
As The Game was in full festival swing there where dares to be done, secrets to be told and quests to complete! From the Jokers Lair to the Royal Quarters, the Film Trailer to Zoltar... a bizarre and dazzling time was had by all!
Title: La Muse
Year: 2010
Project Type: Four week Artist Residency
Location: South West France.
Mia spent a nourishing and inspiring three weeks in October 2010 at The La Muse Inn, in the hilltop village of Labastide-Esparbairenque, South West France, North of the walled city of Carcassonne.
It was a feast of nature, solitude and creativity. Much of the daily rhythm was spent working in the stone studio, or in her beautiful windowed room, mixed with long forest walks, and fantastic replenishing food. The local valley produce included local honey, chestnuts, walnuts, grapes, wines, goats cheese, rabbit, sun ripened tomatoes and silverbeet like you've never tasted.
La Muse brings together attendees from various creative art forms to an inspiring, peaceful, mountain setting, to have dedicated time to work on their creative practice.
Mia was lucky enough to have an incredible group of women with whom she shared her retreat, including 2 writers from New York, a poet from the Palouse, a jeweller/ writer from Dublin, another visual artist from Melbourne and a poet /photographer from Zurich!
View our musers book swap here:
and visit www.lamuseinn.com
Title: Heirloom
Year: 2009
Project Type: Interior Installation for e.g. etal.
Location: e.g. etal contemporary jewellery and objects. Flinders Lane, Melbourne, VIC.
Materials: Ribbon, screen printing, wire.
Heirloom is Mia’s first collaboration with e.g. etal. Musing on the idea of the heirloom, we integrated poetry with cascading sculptural forms, installed throughout the store space.
Title: Positive Body Image Project
Year: 2010
Project Type: Permanent Public Art Work.
Location: Caroline Springs Secondary College.
Materials: Collage and laser cut board.
Mia was approached by Student Welfare Coordinator Kath Harper to facilitate the creation of a permanent artwork responding to Positive Body Image. Mia spent two terms with a group of fifteen year eleven students devising and creating three collaged silhouette figures. Creating the works in small groups, the students explored the factors effecting a positive self and body image, focusing on The Media, Peers and Healthy Mind Body Soul.
Title: Carving out a Place
Year: 2009
Project Type: Large Scale Projection Art Project
Location: Healesville Memorial Hall
Materials: 10 minute Digital Work
The Carving Out a Place project was initiated by the Shire of Yarra Ranges, Mia Rappel and Andrea Werner were commissioned to project manage, facilitate and create 'Carving Out a Place' a New Media Installation for and by Indigenous Young people of the Shire. Andy and Mia spent 4 fantastic months around Healesville working with students from Worawa Aboriginal College and the Oonah Pathways group. The content was created through a series of workshops exploring the themes of Nature, The Body, Sense of Place and Self Expression. The workshops included, imagery collage, live foot and hand print painting, exploring place, shadow dance, sharing your art and Hip Hop. Within the workshops young people were constantly creating digital content through photographing, filming and sound recording. The outcome and presentation of the work was 2 incredible nights of a large scale projection onto the exterior of the Healesville Memorial Hall, accompanied by the amplified sound track. The 10 minute DVD piece ran as a loop for 2 hours each evening, illuminating the streets and surprising passers by with the beautiful 7m wide by 3m high projection. The work was accompanied by stills from the piece being back projected, filing the street facing windows of the HMH with a feast of fading and appearing images. The launch was a huge success with an accompanying exhibition of Oonah Pathways photography works and sausage sizzle, guests included the young people, teachers, family, local community, visitors and members of council. All Young People involved in the project were given a printed DVD of the final work to keep and share with their family and community.
Title: Melton Youth Services Public Art Project
Year: 2009
Project Type: Permanent Public Art Work.
Location: Melton Youth Services Building, Melton, VIC.
Materials: Wood, collage, alluminium.
As part of the construction of the new Youth Services facility in Melton, the Melton Council funded a large-scale art project for the new building. Mia Rappel was the hired artist and project manager for the public art project. Mia worked with the youth services team, and a variety of young people over a four month period in 2008-2009 to develop, create and install the artwork. Over the months weekly art workshops were run at the youth services centre. Young people had the opportunity to experiment with materials and develop their ideas; they worked with collage, stencils, drawing, ink painting, text, beading and fabrics. The theme was individuality and the aim was to engage, explore and create! The result is a permanent installation of 18 totem like aluminium pillars with a jigsaw of unique art works. 75 individual works are included with many more created in the development process. An estimated 120 young people and staff contributed to the overall work.
Title: Walker Street Windows Project
Year: 2009
Project Type: Eight new store designs in one street, with a simultaneous unveiling of a complete window revitalisation.
Location: Walker Street, City of Greater Dandenong.
Materials: Various.
The Walker Street Windows Projects is funded by the City of Greater Dandenong and Vic Urban. An eight store window revitalization, presented in Summer 2008-2009.
Mia Rappel worked with traders and council exploring the obstacles and needs of each store. She then created an individual window design to spotligt the stores stock, strengths and points of difference.
The Walker Street Windows Project was a several month project, from gathering traders interest and developing individual design concepts, to construction and implementation. December 2008 saw Walker Street come alive with silk roses, handmade lamps, perspex trains and cruise ships, fabric screens, lawn bowels cruising on windows, present boxes, a large scale collage of music culture, bold new signage and beautiful perspex displays. The stores included, bridal wear, jewellery, cake supplies, lawn bowels, a recycled music store and a travel agent.
Title: Seasonal window design for BODY
Year: 2008
Project Type: A series of seasonal window installations for the BODY stores
Location: St Kilda, Centre Place Melbourne CBD, Woolahra Sydney.
Materials: Various
Mia worked with Melbourne clothing label BODY over the year of 2008, planning and delivering their window designs for their multiple stores. BODY was a Melbourne based business with 100% Australian design and production. Mia collaborated with owner and designer Dainy Sawatzky, looking over the coming seasons range, the inspirations and themes and developing ideas to express some of that magic in the windows! The four seasonal windows were Aunties Parlour, Urchins Collectables, May Branches & Autumn Threads.
Title: Art Program Facilitator
Year: 2005-2010
Project Type: Art Therapist and Art Program Facilitator for YSAS (Youth Substance Abuse Services )
Location: Fitzroy, Glen Iris, Dandenong.
Materials: Various
From April 2005 to Easter 2010 Mia worked as an arts facilitator with YSAS (Youth Substance Abuse Services). She developed and delivered weekly art programs in the Fitzroy Residential Unit, Fitzroy Day Program, Glen Iris Residential Unit and the Dandenong Day Program. Over these years Mia worked with a diverse range of young people from different social, economical and cultural backgrounds, with different life obstacles, risks, and dreams. Her programs included a diverse range of materials and techniques including, collage, drawing, screen printing, stencils, murals, jewelry and painting.
“It is difficult to speak highly enough of Mia’s work at YSAS to date. The young people she has worked with have benefited so much from her passion, commitment and unbelievable energy. She has the ability to easily engage a diverse range of vulnerable young people into art based activities. Mia is equally comfortable working with large groups of young people as well as individuals and I have personally witnessed occasions when initially reluctant, uninterested young people have ended up engaged and excited about an art project”
an excerpt from a Reference by Dom Ennis, Manager YSAS CNW community programs
Title: The Boat & Copper Shadow at Kindred Studios
Year: 2005
Project Type: Interior Design, Interior Objects and Sculptures.
Location: Kindred Studios, Yarraville
Materials: Various
In 2005 Mia had the opportunity to contribute to the interior design of Kindred Studios in Yarraville. Mia consulted on the color palette and designed and delivered two interior sculptures. The Boat is a sculptural front desk, built with the building site off cuts and hand painted. Copper Shadow is a suspended sculptural light piece.
Title: Seasonal Window Design for HUSK
Year: 2004-2006
Project Type: A series of seasonal window installations for the HUSK stores
Location: Toorak, Collins St CBD, Albert Park
Materials: Various
Mia worked over a 2 year period with the wonderful fashion and home wares HUSK stores, designing and implementing their window designs. Mia collaborated with Justin & Emma Abrahams creating vibrant sculptural forms for the multiple Melbourne stores. Some of the seasonal window designs and events include, Remember, Butterfly Queen ( State of Design Festival ), Celebrate, Spiral 1, Badges, Cameo and the 10th Anniversary Party.
Title: Seasonal installations for Mark Tuckey
Year: 2004
Project Type: A series of seasonal window and store installations for the Mark Tuckey store.
Location: Fitzroy VIC
Materials: Various
Mia worked with furniture design store Mark Tuckey, creating sculptural forms for their large retail space in Fitzroy. Mark Tuckey creates beautiful recycled furniture, with a wonderful natural palette from which to draw inspiration from. Mia worked with Works included Pods, Stitch & Forest Panels.
Title: Pillar and Jewel @ Arthur Gallan
Year: 2004
Project Type: Window Design for A.G Stores.
Location: South Yarra, G.P.O, Lt Collins St Melbourme, Oxford St Sydney
Materials: Enamel paint, cardboard tube, sequin, string.
Mia worked with the Arthur Gallan stores to create a Summer Window Design, expressing the sparkle and style of the festive season.
Title: Adidas Leap
Year: 2004
Project Type: Multiple window design and installation
Location: Adidas Store Q.V Building Sydney
Materials: Aluminium tubes, fabric, posters.
Mia collaborated with the Adidas team to devise a spring window design titled Leap, this included a photo shoot of the new range, poster printing and sculptural forms.
Title: Adidas Wrapped
Year: 2003
Project Type: Multiple window design and installation
Location: Adidas Store Q.V Building Sydney
Materials: Fabric, boxes, paint, posters.
Mia was commissioned to create a Christmas window display for the opening of the Flagship Adidas store at the Q.V building Sydney. This comprised of 4 themed widows, incorporating large scale shoe boxes, large scale posters and lots of Lycra!
Title: Faces & Words
Year: 2002
Project Type: Performance Event and Installation.
Location: The Barn at French Style, Prahran VIC
Materials: paper, ink, beeswax, fabric, printing, found objects.
Faces and Words was a performance event and installation. A disused warehouse was transformed for the event, the two major works included a large scale installation of beeswax infused ink drawings, and an interactive live poetry installation. There was also paella and hand made roti prepared on fires in a Prahran alleyway!
Title: Corridor Installation & Mezzanine Installation
Year: 1999
Project Type: Final Year Sculptural Installation.
Location: VCA Victorian College of the Arts
Materials: natural dyed calico, beeswax, rice, burnished ceramics, paper, cane, ink.
Mia studied and completed a Bachelor of Visual and Performing Arts at the VCA. Corridor Installation comprised of burnished hand fired ceramic pieces, installed on a bed of rice, with a cane/paper/ink back drop. Mezzanine Installation used hand dyed calico dipped in beeswax to create a series of forms.
