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Bonnie Hislop is an artist focusing on ceramics, particularly handbuilding and ceramic illustration. Grounded in technical skill, her practice has evolved from creating illustrative ceramic planters to large scale sculptural work. Bonnie uses her forms to critically engage with the world around her and document the human experience. Working from her Meanjin home studio, Bonnie meticulously hand crafts her forms through an involved and often uncertain process inherent in working with clay. She unites bright colours and satirical concepts to engage her audience in a dialogue with the physical world around them. Her work intersects traditional representations of ceramics with a craft aesthetic to create a contemporary interpretation of the ceramic medium. The artwork doesn’t take itself too seriously yet is able to capture personal experiences universal to the human condition. Her practice aims to encapsulate universal experiences of frustration, angst, grief, emotional fatigue as well as feminine strength, intimacy and desire. The performative, brightly coloured ceramics forge an existence through joy and curiosity. In 2022 she and photographer Melanie Hinds developed an ongoing collaborative series which puts Hislop in the frame with the artwork, extending the messaging of the ceramic works. This collaboration seeks to subvert perceptions on the classic ‘artist portrait’ and expectations of femininity. 

Bonnie regularly facilitates ceramic classes, produces public programs and exhibits her work around Australia, most recently being part of Bundaberg Regional Gallery’s exhibition ‘XX’ and QATACON24. In 2023 she was a finalist in the Siliceous Award for Ceramic Excellence and the National Emerging Art Prize.