Marina Lommerse

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Biography

I am an artist, interior architect and former Professor. I create paintings, paper flower installations, and sculptures inspired by my travels. My art focuses on the natural world and takes you to a place you love, a character you’d like to live with, an encounter you’d like to have. My passion for wildlife environments has led me to study creatures of the sea, land and air in my artworks, featured in several exhibitions. My works are based on deep research into place, memory and community. I have exhibited in Australia, Italy and Myanmar. I have curated exhibitions and written books on social sustainability and community engagement. My award-winning creative work won funding from the Australian ASEAN Council, Australia Council for the Arts, DLGSCI, Government of WA, the City of Fremantle, the Shire of Collie and Curtin University.

Solo Exhibitions

2022
Riches of Isolation II
In these works, I celebrate the freedom of exploring our natural environment of Western Australia. In this exhibition, I share our place-specific, culturally significant gifts.

2021
Yangon Alley Garden
Curator: Leonie Mathews, Old Mariner’s Gallery, Fremantle, Australia

2014
Sea Circus
Kidogo Gallery, Fremantle, Western Australia

Group Exhibitions

2024
Artwalk Freo 24
Fremantle, Australia, 2024

2023
York Botanic Art Prize 23
Gallery 152, York, Australia

2021
Leech-Partington Botanical Art Prize Exhibition
Denmark y Gallery, Denmark, Australia

2019
Off the Page
Curator: Katrina Longo. Claremont Town Centre, Perth, Australia

2018
Beauty from the Bush: Botanical art of Western Australian Flora
Curator: Susan Radford, Avocado Gallery, Perth, Australia

2018
Botanica Art Exhibition: Symbiosis
Curator: J. Dunstan, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney, Australia

2016
Public2016 Platform Urban Art Festival
The Language of Flowers \ Installation & Nest New Nomads \ Installation, Curated by FORM Curatorial Team, FORM Gallery, Claremont, Australia.

2015
Public2015 Salon
Curated by FORM Curatorial Team, FORM Gallery, Perth, Australia.

2015
Public2015 Urban Art Festival
Emus Fleeing \ Mural, Curated by FORM Curatorial Team, Fremantle, Australia

2012
An Interior Affair
Curated by Marina Lommerse et al for IDEA, FORM Gallery, Perth, Australia.

2010
Permeable Boundaries
Curated by Marina Lommerse & Dianne Smith, John Curtin Gallery, Perth, Australia.

2006
Riches of Isolation
Curated by Marina Lommerse et al, Salone Satellite, Milan, Italy and FORM Gallery, Perth, Australia.

2004
designXchange
Curated by Marina Lommerse, FORM Gallery, Perth, Australia.

Awards

2023
Finalist, York Botanic Art Award 23

2023
People’s Choice Award, York Botanic Art Prize 23
York Botanic Art Prize 23

2020
Yangon Alley Garden – A Community Based Art Project
Association of Southeast Asian Nations Council Grants (ASEAN) Australian Department of Finance and Trade, 2019-2020.

2016
The Language of Flowers \ Placemaking Installation
FORM PUBLIC2016 PLATFORM. Claremont, Australia

2016
Nest: New Nomads \ Placemaking Installation
FORM PUBLIC2016 PLATFORM. Claremont, Australia

2001
Finalist, Australian Awards for University Teaching

Commissions

2020
Collie Mural Trail

2018
Language of Flowers: Spring Flower Gallop \ Installation

2016
The Language of Flowers: Chandelier \ Installation

2016
Language of Flowers: Fashion Meets Flowers \ Installation

2016 - 2017
Flora & Fauna of Bramley National Park \ Mural Series

2015
Emus Fleeing \ Mural

2015 - 2016
Carnaby's Food Forest \ Mural

Publications

2011
Designing Futures: A Model for innovation, Growth and Sustainability of the Craft and Design Industry
Marina Lommerse et al, Design Principles and Practices: an International Journal, vol 5, issue 4, pp. 385-404.

2014
M2 Models and Methodologies for Community Engagement
Edited Book by Marina Lommerse et al, Singapore: Springer.

2014
Perspectives on Social Sustainability and Interior Architecture
Edited Book by Marina Lommerse et al, Singapore: Springer.

2012
Interior architecture as an agent for wellbeing
Marina Lommerse et al, Journal of HEIA, Vol 19, No. 3, 2012. Pp. 2-9.

2009
Facilitating Cultural Transformation: Redefining Indigenous identity through architecture
Marina Lommerse, Proceedings Publication Cultural Crossroads: The 26th annual conference of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand, pp 1-27.

2003
Raising Understanding of Indigenous Australian Culture through Creative Production in Interior Architecture
Marina Lommerse, IDEA Journal 2003, vol. 1, issue 4, pp.57-69.

2012
An Interior AffAIr: a State of Becoming
An IDEA (Interior Design/Interior Architecture Educators Association) exhibition hosted and convened by Curtin University at the FORM Gallery, Perth, Australia 6 September – 6 October 2012

2006
Riches of Isolation: unearthing the Creative potential of Western Australia
A unique collaboration by Curtin University and FORM, intended to nurture Western Australia’s design talent and help build a dynamic culture of creativity in the State.

2025
Femme Rebelle Magazine
October 2025

2018
Meet the Artists: Spring Floral Installation at Crown Perth
See Crown bloom with colour and life this spring 2018 as magnificent floral installations takeover Lobby Lounge, Crown Towers Frangipani Tree and Crown Metropol.

Residencies

2021
RSPCA Artist-in-Residence \ Animals Promenading \ Placemaking Mural
RSPCA WA, Malaga, Australia, 2020-21.

2021
Yangon Alley Garden AIR | Making Place Through Craft and Community in Yangon
Yangon, Myanmar & Fremantle, Australia 2020 & 2021

2020
Australian Fellow, Domain de Boisbuchet
Boisbuchet runs art and design workshops and traveling exhibitions in cooperation with the Pompidou Centre (Paris). 2014 – 2020 (Lessac, France)

2017
Bramley National Park Arts Residency \ Flora & Fauna of Bramley National Park
Bramley National Park, Australia, 2016 & 2017.

2017
Mountain Seas Arts Residency
During my residency I gathered materials on the island through sketches, colour studies, written material and photography. These will be used to develop a new body of landscape paintings.

Marina Lommerse
Painting, Installation art, Sculpture

Artist Statement

Born in England, raised in Canada, and based in Fremantle Australia. My work celebrates place through lived experience, magnifying often-overlooked details to reveal character, texture, and complexity. Through research, storytelling, and fieldwork, I create figurative paintings in acrylic and watercolour, alongside abstract installations using mixed media.