Clare Milledge: Complex Notophyll Vine Forest: Ground-Proof
Lismore Regional Gallery presents complex notophyll vine forest: ground-proof, a major survey exhibition by Clare Milledge that spans more than 2 decades of practice, bringing together painting, sculpture, textiles and sound to explore ecology, mythology and inter-species relationships through a material and place-responsive lens. Raised on Bundjalung Country in northern New South Wales, Milledge draws on ethno-botanical research and the ecological practice of ‘ground-proofing’ (or ground- truthing) to emphasise direct, embodied engagement with land, grounding global environmental concerns in local knowledge, fieldwork and lived experience. The exhibition title references the ‘complex notophyll vine forest’ classification of the Terania Creek Basin, an area of ecological richness and early environmental activism near Lismore, and unfolds as an immersive encounter shaped by personal connection to Country. Accompanying the exhibition is a stand-alone publication featuring essays, field notes and archival imagery that extends Milledge’s inquiry beyond the gallery space, with the exhibition on view until March 15, 2026.
Image credit: Clare Milledge, complex notophyll vine forest: ground-proof , Installation view, Lismore Regional Gallery, 2026. Photo: Cherie Winter. Courtesy of the artist, STATION, and Lismore Regional Gallery
