JULIE POULSEN | 'Hunky 1' | 2026 | Recycled materials / glue / ink | 320 x 200 x 190 mm

Art college in Toowoomba in the late 1970s was defining. Its artistic culture encouraged independence and experimentation. Technical instruction was limited, but the experience fostered resilience, self-reliance and a willingness to take risks in the studio. These qualities remain central to my practice.

In the early 2000s, my process and materials shifted from oils and easel painting to water-based media applied to unstretched canvas on the floor. I began working on unprimed canvas and calico, with house paint becoming a pivotal material. The physical process of applying paint and media eventually determined a finite point of completion. What remained was a growing accumulation of painted remnants and offcuts.

As the stack grew, the idea of making bags emerged to became an ongoing practice. Neatly stitched and functional, these bags transformed discarded remnants into purposeful objects.

These functional bags became the starting point for Hunkys. The new works are unstitched, glued, inked and roughly constructed. Stripped of their original purpose, they challenge the pristine, purpose-built bag and shift the familiar object into something unresolved, awkward and deliberately non-functional.