Exhibition Opening - Serotiny: Parables of the Banksia

Exhibition Opening 

• Date: Friday 11 September 2026
• Time: 6pm–7:30pm
• Location: CASM
• Cost: Free
• Guest Speaker: Rachel Middleton (Counsellor & Relationship Coach at Hav-a-Chat Counselling Services WA)

This exhibition offers a quiet space to consider grief, loss and brokenness—experiences which are often kept private, contained or unseen in our society. For Lucy Gray, art is central to her movement through pain, suffering and renewal. It has become a language for her to express lament, walk through seasons of loss and suffering, and remind herself that there is yet hope. Many works arise from specific moments within that process, expressed through large-scale paintings, video pieces, linocut prints and drawings.

Serotiny is the botanical term for the unique ability of certain banksias to germinate under fire conditions. Using this allegory, the exhibition explores suffering and endurance, transformation and the possibility of healing. More than a botanical subject, the banksia becomes a guide, revealing how resilience and legacy can emerge from life’s most fractured places.

About the Artist:

In her art practice, Lucy Gray explores the deeply personal terrains of grief, loss, and brokenness—experiences often kept private or unseen in society. For Lucy, creating art is a vital way to move through pain and suffering toward renewal. Her work serves as a meaningful language of lament, offering a quiet space to process difficult seasons while steadfastly holding onto hope.

Working across a diverse range of mediums, she captures specific emotional moments through large-scale paintings, video installations, linocut prints, and drawings. Her technical versatility allows her to express the many layers of human emotion, transitioning from the raw, expansive energy of large canvases to the deliberate, reflective precision of printmaking.