2022 ARTIST BIOS | Miles Allen & Liz Capelin

/ / Artist Bios 2022

About Miles Allen & Liz Capelin

Miles Allen’s recent sculpture and installation work is about provoking questions via an ongoing exploration into recycling and using a variety of materials in a variety of ways. His art is about seeing beauty in ordinary things, creating order, crossing cultures, promoting conversations, joy and humour. In 2016 he won the Sculpture on the Edge competition and in 2019 the Environment Award at Maleny. He has undertaken commissions in 2017, 2019 and 2021 for the Floating Land Festival at Noosa/Lake Cootharaba. He has exhibited with SWELL Sculpture Festival four times. Over 23 000 people contributed to his work at SWELL last year. Miles has held 19 solo exhibitions since 2002. His most recent exhibition was in September with Sam Taylor at Gympie Regional Gallery on the theme of Boundaries. He has shown work in over 100 group shows and competitions and last year had work in the Sunshine Coast Art Prize. He is represented in the collections of the Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, the Mater Private Hospital Brisbane and the Gold Coast University Hospital amongst others. In 2010 he completed one of the largest murals in Australia in Bella Vista, NSW. He is represented by Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane.

Liz Capelin is a creative producer working at the intersection of creative industries, environmental conservation and community engagement. For 17 years she has conceived and coordinated projects where creative inquiry and practices have given voice to environmental themes, forming experiences for and between people, and inspiring stewardship of place. Her interdisciplinary approach was nationally recognised as a Banksia Award Winner for the 2019 biodiversity-focused Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve BioBlitz. In 2021, she designed and delivered Tiny Giants, a multi-faceted invertebrate research project in partnership with the Queensland Museum. Liz is an environmental interpretation writer, curator of ephemeral exhibitions in botanic gardens and coordinator of arts-based conservation programs and exhibitions on the Sunshine Coast.

2022 SWELL ARTWORK – Calyx, Miles Allen & Liz Capelin

You are invited to inhabit, explore and play inside this super-sized orange mangrove calyx (Bruguiera gymnorhiza). Crafted from natural materials, this sculpture is 100 times larger than the commonly seen but under-valued tidal debris found in coastal wetland forests. Mangroves play a vital role in ‘blue carbon’ – the sequestration and storage of atmospheric carbon in coastal and oceanic ecosystems. By stepping through the many doorways, the artists aim to ignite curiosity about what is going on inside mangroves, and spark conversations about these important climate balancing species.

Instagram: @miles_allen_artist @thirdnatureprojects

Website: https://www.milesallen.com/ https://www.thirdnature.com.au/

Come and see for yourself at SWELL Sculpture Festival, Pacific Parade, Currumbin 9-18 September.