Grace Culley
“Studio visit”

During the development of Surprised face; Heart eyes, artist Grace Culley was visited by West Space Volunteers Freddie Wright and Lauren Fahey.

Realised through her experience of Tourette’s Syndrome, Grace Culley's 2023 West Space Commission presents a dopamine-centric view of the world, to explore the nuanced ways in which the ‘surprise reward’ chemical exists within the body, and how this manifests in broader social patterns.

Surprised face; Heart eyes is a West Space Commission. The exhibition is supported by Creative Victoria and accompanied by a publication by Sonntag Press.

Installation shot of Grace Culley's solo commission show. There is a large textured curly metal sculptural work suspended in the foreground. In the background there is a circle of suspended gate-like artworks and a large painting on the wall with eyes and heart-shaped pupils.

Grace Culley’s practice spans the mediums of biro pen drawing, assemblage and painting, examining the precarious thresholds between overt and covert behaviour using repeated actions and imagery constructed from patterns. The resulting labour-intensive and intricate artworks highlight ruptures in control, which stems from her experience of Gilles de la Tourette’s Syndrome.