FOCUS ON THE ELEMENT OF EARTH
APR 24 - MAY 12, 2025

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Martyn Thompson, Sis Cowie and Sara Birns; FOCUS ON THE ELEMENT OF EARTH brings together the quiet alchemy of these three practices, each exploring the elemental in their own way. This exhibition quietly interrogates the relationship between material and intention, where the hands of the artist meet the unpredictable forces of creation.

Martyn Thompson, in collaboration with The Canberra Glassworks, pushes glass to unexpected extremes, creating vessels and screens that blur the line between fragility and strength. His work hints at the delicate balance between control and surrender.

Sis Cowie’s oil paintings confront the complexities of the female form through cinematic vignettes of fear and surprise, offering a contemplative look at how emotion is shaped by the body and its surroundings. Her works invite a sense of stillness, yet pulse with an undercurrent of raw energy.

Sara Birns, working for the first time with ceramics, brings her oil pastel portraits to life in clay frames that disrupt the boundary between the surreal and the tangible. Drawing inspiration from the Golem myth, her works suggest a quiet animation, where the viewer’s own emotions breathe life into each piece.

Martyn Thompson, Sis Cowie and Sara Birns;  FOCUS ON THE ELEMENT OF EARTH, the material becomes a mediator between intention and transformation, inviting a deeper reflection on the forces that shape both the art and the viewer.

CORDON SALON
MAY 15 - JUN 01, 2025

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"Garniture"
as part of MDW
Exhibition 

Garniture by Cordon Salon reimagines historical craftsmanship through a contemporary lens, exploring the enduring relevance of Western European plate armour techniques in modern design. This ongoing body of work draws on two years of extensive applied research supported by the International Specialised Skills Institute Fellowship, where designer Ella Saddington delved into the artistry and ingenuity of medieval and early modern armorers. Craftspeople  who pioneered methods that balanced functionality, beauty, and material innovation, creating works that were modular, durable, and steeped in cultural significance.

Garniture, a historical system of modular armour with interchangeable components tailored for different contexts and uses. Inspired by this principle, each piece functions as a sculptural yet practical artifact. Reflecting on embedded narratives carried within materials and the ways craft can connect past and present. In bridging historical craftsmanship and contemporary design, Cordon Salon considers the value of objects, their lifespans, and their relationship to the human experience.

Photography by;
Annika Kafcaloudis

DEISGN HOUSE VOl. II
As part of MDW 2025

MAY 21 - MAY 25, 2025

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It must be said: quite frankly, it’s embarrassing that there’s still a dramatic pause and delay when the question of producing a list of talented female designers comes up. Of course, great design is great design, full stop. We experience excellent work in a diverse array of immersive contexts, regardless of gender identity. Gatekeepers and ‘girl bosses’ we are not.

However, to reiterate, it really must be said - and space must be made - to highlight the incredible work of our colleagues. In some circles, you can almost sense the panicked thought of “how will we fill the room?” as if we’re living through some terrible drought of female brilliance and potential. The truth is, we could fill homes and trade halls alike with the abundance of dynamic female designers and artists we know and love. So we’re going to demonstrate. For Melbourne Design Week 2025, in a kind of call and response to our previous Design House installation, we’re featuring works by a selection of female identifying designers in a domestic space - our own home. Whatever we can fit up the stairs, really.

The installation features works by Adrianna Hanna, Tali Roth, Marsha Golemac, Sarah I’Anson, Christina Teresinski, Antonia Ellis, Alex and Trahanas, Linda* and Helen Davies These women work across a range of fields and interest areas, each with their own comprehensive practice and strong sense of identity.

We wanted to engage playfully with the idea of women in the domestic space, a kind of tongue in cheek encounter with gendered space. Make no mistake though, there is nary a chintzy doily to be seen here. This is Design House: Full Throttle. You want to know where all the female designers are? Come and take a look. You want to celebrate and support diversity in design? Put your money where your mouth is. We’re beyond thrilled to put together a show full of talented women who we admire greatly, whose work excites and inspires us and who we think everyone should be paying close attention to. Mic drop, end of speech.

*Who Runs The World by Beyoncé plays softly in the background*