Bundaberg-based artist Shelley Pisani has received Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) support from Bundaberg Regional Council to support exhibiting work as part of a collective of artists.
‘Whisper in the Leaves’ is a contemplative exhibition that explores the stories trees might tell of migration, memory, culture and deep time.
Bringing together works by Shelley, Bronwyn Davies (Tamborine Mountain) and Joolie Gibbs (Gympie) under the If Trees Could Talk Collective, the exhibition reconnects heritage, ecology and identity through painting, reclaimed timber and ceramics.
Each artist approaches the idea of trees as storytellers — living witnesses to human endurance, resilience, and change.
Shelley’s series draws on reclaimed timbers, salvaged house stumps and hand-inscribed ceramic bowls as offerings back to the trees that sustained generations before her as shelter and a means of making a living.
“This project is deeply personal,” Shelley said.
“I’ve traced my family’s stories through the trees that shaped their lives — a Moreton Bay fig that connects to my mother, ironbark that shares the story of my three times Great Grandparents, hoop pines that are linked to my Great Great Grandfather who felled them, and blue gum that relates to my Great Great Uncle from Buxton.
“Each species carries memory, material and meaning.”
These works will be a major feature of ‘Whisper in the Leaves’, to be presented at Gympie Regional Gallery from 28 November this year until January, and in Bundaberg in 2027.
“After many years supporting other artists and communities, I wanted to make work that re-centres my own creative practice while still honouring the people and places that shaped me,” Shelley said.
“This exhibition is about connection — to family, to land, and to the quiet wisdom that trees hold.
“The RADF grant has allowed me to have my work professionally documented for promotional purposes as our collective reaches out to galleries to tour the exhibition.”
Shelley said she hopes the exhibition will spark reflection and pride in local stories while inviting audiences to consider their own relationship with nature and place.
“Success for me is when people see their own histories in these works — when they stop, listen, and recognise the stories living silently in our landscapes.”
The Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) is a partnership between the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland and Bundaberg Regional Council to support local arts and culture in regional communities.
