ALISON McDONALD | ‘Belonging Latch Key Necklace’ | Corrugated sterling silver pendant and chain | rough sapphire / liver of sulphur patina

Alison McDonald’s 20 year practice is based in Townsville, North Queensland. McDonald’s art sits at the junction of consumer culture and environmental concern and ranges in size from microscopic jewellery to epic sculpture or installation. Her work is shown in national and international exhibitions, including Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, Strand Ephemera’s (2015 winner) and in 2025 won the Art for Life Award with Qld Regional Arts Awards. Her artwork is in collections of Royal North Shore Hospital, Visy Education Centre, Perc Tucker Gallery, TCC’s-Integrated Sustainability, Catholic Education, CQ University, Energy Super, Monterey Bay Aquarium, California and Stadiums Queensland. McDonald completed her BVA (Hons) from JCU, then a Master of Art in Public Space at RMIT. She has also been artist in residence at Aberystwyth, Wales with an Arts Qld Career Development Grant and twice to RedGate, Beijing. McDonald taught Sculpture at James Cook University and TAFE North Qld. She recently toured a solo exhibition ‘Wanton, Wild & Unimagined’ to 13 galleries around Australia.

‘Belonging’ pieces are from the artists 2023 exhibition of the same name.

‘Throughout my life, I have experienced the constant upheaval of moving homes, approximately 22 times. Each relocation involved packing up our belongings and embarking on a journey to create a new home, hauling our possessions along with us. This recurring process made me contemplate the concept of belonging and its intricate relationship with our homes. I began to question the significance of the objects we carry with us and the mundane objects that bear witness to our daily lives and cherished memories. Do we truly need these possessions to remember the losses we have endured?’ – Alison McDonald