Please note the Gallery is currently closed whilst building renovations take place. We will open again at the end of May.

Recent Exhibition

Elizabeth Peddell: The Gift of Sight

Artist Statement
“I was raised on a sailing ship for many years. During that time, I saw many of life’s wonders. I was able to sit on a secluded beach, with just the sound of the wind in the trees and the waves lapping at the shore. I was able to explore islands out to sea and look for treasures, rummage through old abandoned huts and run from spiders as big as dinner plates.

Since then, I have had many trials. I moved to Sydney to have a chance to become a great artist. I did a diploma of digital and interactive games, and a diploma of digital media technologies. I however, was not listening to my body. Coming from the quiet ocean, to a bustling, noisy city that seemed to always go at hyper speed didn’t do well with my epilepsy. 

In 2016, I lost my sight. I was devastated. I was a husk. A blind, helpless husk. I was hospitalised for four months, each day the nurses and psychiatrists slowly brought back my will to live. Something changed in there though. I discovered that I could feel art. After I got out of hospital, I wanted to chase the possibility of becoming an artist again. I tried a few places, but they just told me I was “too disabled” and my blindness made me a liability. My psychologist at the time wouldn’t let me give up though; she said she found a scholarship at Tom Bass Sculpture Studio School.

The day came when I had an interview at TBSSS with Wendy Black. That day will always be special to me, because talking to a fellow artist who really gets art, ignited my passion from a flame about to sputter out, to a raging inferno. I was so shocked and happy and not believing that I was finally in a place who saw past my disabilities, past my mental health, and saw me.

This is how I approach my art. Every stone has a story. Every stone, just like every person, has had good times and bad times. Every stone looks rough on the outside. But, stones, like people, it’s not what is on the outside that counts, it’s who and what they are on the inside.

Since coming to Tom Bass Sculpture Studio School, I myself have grown, not only in the ability to do sculptures, but in myself. Here, I’m not that blind, helpless, useless person I used to be, I can start to take pride in what I do, and know that I too have the gift of sight, I just see in a different light.” Elizabeth Peddell (pictured above).

There are 3 special things about the flyer (pictured left), designed by Elizabeth:
1. Green is the easiest colour for the human eye to pick up.
2. The leaves up the top are in focus, which is what the normal eye can see.
3. The background is out of focus, which is very much like what I can see.