Welcome to The Little Pink House and The Golden Garden (2026), a colourful co-exhibition by Australian artists Claire Bear and Sarah Gee. This essay invites readers to delve deeper into the story behind the exhibition, which explores the relationship between interior and exterior spaces. Through their shared connection to the Gold Coast, the artists present complementary explorations of memory and place, as explored through painting, sculpture and printmaking.

The story begins by introducing the inspiration behind The Golden Garden through the work of Sarah, a nature inspired artist and illustrator. Her works invite viewers to celebrate the lush rainforest landscape of Currumbin Valley and precious native insect species that inhabit it.

Above Your Head, Currumbin Valley (2026) offers the first glimpse of the dappled golden light that defines the garden. The painting captures a moment that is both calming and enchanting, depicting warm rays filtering through tree leaves, portraying a familiar experience of looking skyward beneath the trees. Its companion work, At Your Feet, Currumbin Valley (2026), shifts this perspective by imagining the scene from nature's point of view. It reflects what the natural world might witness as we stand beneath the trees, immersed in golden light. Together, these paintings establish The Golden Garden as a place that is warm and nostalgic, linking to the artist’s intent to encourage curiosity and care for the natural world.

Complementing these paintings are Sarah's vibrant needle felted butterflies and moths, inspired by native and endangered insect species found on the Gold Coast. Richmond Birdwing Butterfly (Ornithoptera Richmondia) (2026), depicting The Richmond Birdwing butterfly, introduces one of The Golden Garden’s most treasured inhabitants. These delicate sculptures not only enrich the narrative of The Golden Garden but also encourage greater awareness of the role these insects play as pollinators, supporting the reproduction of various plants species and contributing to the overall biodiversity of Southeast Queensland and Northeast New South Wales. [1]

Alongside these works, Sarah is exhibiting a series of botanical paintings, Flowers from my grandmother’s garden (2024). These works are a tribute to Sarah’s last living grandparent, capturing her memories within her grandmother’s backyard in New South Wales. Within these paintings, Sarah explores art as a form of preservation, encouraging viewers of The Little Pink House and The Golden Garden to recollect their own memories evoked by outdoor settings.

The story continues as Claire and Sarah bring their individual practices together to investigate themes of nature and human expression in their collaborative work, Dappled Dianella (Brevipedunculata) Blue Flax Lily (2026). This artwork features the DianellaBrevipedunculata Blue Flax Lily, drawing attention to the significance of native flora and encouraging a greater awareness of its presence.

 The creation of this work became an unexpected game of hide and seek. As the light gradually faded, the artists could no longer rely solely on sight. Instead, they painted instinctively, moving freely and taking risks. This approach draws on the legacy of Action Painting, which emerged during the 1940s and 1950s, where the physical act of painting became inseparable from the finished work. [2] Through sweeping gestures, energetic mark making, and the body's interaction with the canvas, Action Painting emphasised process as much as outcome. This can be found in Dappled Dianella (Brevipedunculata) Blue Flax Lily, where action is guided by curiosity and collaboration.

We now move into The Little Pink House, a fantasy space imagined and built from ideals of what home should feel like. Through her practice, visual artist Claire reimagines places associated with comfort, belonging, and safety. Her installations Invitation to Trespass (2026) and Blanket Fort (2026) are soft sculptures inspired by domestic spaces constructed from blankets designs and familiar household materials that are synonymous with warmth, protection, and comfort.

Alongside these works, Claire's paintings A Quiet Space (2026) and Soft Shelter (2026) depict little pink houses that appear to be enveloped by the landscapes they inhabit. These works explore the relationship between structures and nature, suggesting that both environments can converge to create a sense of home.

Many of the works in the exhibition invite participation, encouraging visitors to step inside, sit, and touch the artworks. Through this physical engagement, the story of The Little Pink House becomes one people can physical immerse themselves inside. Claire's work proposes that home is not defined by a building, but by experiences of comfort, belonging, imagination, and safety. Within this imagined world, these qualities are essential conditions of home.

The story may be drawing to a close, but The Little Pink House and The Golden Garden speaks to the memories and places that people continue to carry within them. Time spent within the exhibition offers opportunities to reconnect with personal experiences of comfort, belonging, and the natural world. Visitors may be reminded of lush, golden gardens, landscapes rich with treasured native species, or the places and moments that have offered a sense of safety and home.

Ultimately, the exhibition invites reflection on what home means, where comfort is found, and how memories are shaped by both interior and exterior spaces. Like a story that lingers after its final page, The Little Pink House and The Golden Garden suggeststhat these memories continue to bloom long after the exhibition comes to an end.

Design by Sarah Gee

[1] “Richmond Birdwing Butterfly,” Queensland Government, May 30, 2025, https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/plants-animals/conservation/threatened-species/featured-projects/richmond-birdwing-butterfly

[2] Charles Harrison and Paul Wood, Art in Theory: 1900-1990 An Anthology of Changing Ideas (BLACKWELL Oxford UK & Cambridge USA, 1993), page 581, https://americainclass.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/2-Rosenberg-Reading.pdf