Clare Milledge's work re-examines contemporary environments with a focus on engagement with ecology through art, in particular through the use of the historical figure of the artist-shaman. Her upbringing in a tent in subtropical rainforests with ecologist parents grounds her practice. Working with fieldwork as her inceptive methodology, she collects, re-organises, transforms and re-presents recordings, information and material gathered on ecological surveys, daily experiences and site visits. Her approach is experimental and collaborative, often combining material derived from sources as diverse as MMORPG chat, Tinder profiles, scientific species lists, garden walks and historical alphabets. Her research output takes the form of public installation environments that variously incorporate glass paintings, textiles, poetry, costumes, sets, gardens, sound and performance. Her idiosyncratic glass-paintings employ the old Byzantine technique of hinterglasmalerei to invoke elemental magic, ranging from alphabetical poem-lists and potent geometric abstractions to figurative plant-animal-rock transformations.
Milledge is an artist and academic. She obtained her Doctor of Philosophy at Sydney College of the Arts, the University of Sydney in 2013, and completed her Honours year at the Statenskunst Akademi in Oslo, maintaining an active engagement with Norwegian contemporary art. She has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout Australia and internationally. She was three times a finalist in the Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Scholarship (2007, 2008, 2010) and three times a finalist in the Fauvette Loureiro Travelling Art Scholarship (2016, 2017, 2020). Her work is held in the collections of the National Gallery of Victoria, Buxton Contemporary, Monash University Museum of Art, Ten Cubed and Artbank. In 2022, Milledge presented a major installation Imbás: A Well at the Bottom of the Sea for the 23rd Biennale of Sydney: rīvus.
Altus Duel: Total Environment
2014
Gertrude Contemporary
Witching Rod
2014
oil on tempered glass
92.0 x 72.0 x 0.4 cm
Lowest Common Denominator
2014
oil on tempered glass, dyed hessian
92.0 x 72.0 x 0.4 cm
Dämmerschlaf
2016
Installation view
Dämmerschlaf
2016
Installation view
Remedial Works
2017
Perth Institute of Contemporary Art
Installation view
Remedial Works
2017
Perth Institute of Contemporary Art
Installation view
Self-Reflexive Critique: Iota
2016
oil on glass, paint rag, bronze
Antipodean Field Survey: Vertebrate calls Glenorchy, NZ and Oslo, NO 1.2.17 - 7.2.17
2019
Fotogalleriet, Oslo
Calyx wane
2019
oil on stained glass, recycled Australian hardwood (old Goulburn bridge), net
23.5 x 19.2 cm
Masked Medusa
2013
oil on tempered glass, tempered mirror, frame
63.0 x 42.5 x 6.0 cm
Microbe Rights
2013
oil on tempered glass, frame
111.0 x 60.5 x 6.0 cm
The Last Empire
2013
oil on tempered glass, frame
111.0 x 60.5 x 6.0
Altus
2013
oil on tempered glass, paint rag, frame
52.5 x 47.0 x 6.0 cm
Discover Real Hope for the Future
2013
oil on tempered glass, tempered mirror, hessian, frame
52.5 x 47.0 x 6.0 cm
Anthropocene Solar Anus
2013
oil on tempered glass, frame
85.0 x 74.0 x 6.0 cm
Installation view
2013
Thurifer's Cloak
2015
oil on toughened glass, dyed hessian
110.0 x 110.0 cm
Sacks of wind: a rock harder than rock
2018
installation view
Sacks of wind: a rock harder than rock
2018
installation view
I am a stag: of seven tines
2018
oil on the reverse of recycled tempered glass, bronze close-readers, steel
31.5 ⌀ x 6.0 cm
I am the blaze: on every hill
2018
oil on the reverse of recycled tempered glass, bronze close-readers, steel
47.8 x 39.4 x 6.0 cm
I am the queen: of every hive
2018
oil on the reverse of recycled tempered glass, bronze close-readers, steel
60.0 x 41.2 x 6.0 cm
Thelychiton ascendant
2019
oil on stained glass, recycled Australian hardwood (old Goulburn bridge), bronze close-readers
42.0 x 25.0 cm
Pleasure Plants
2019
Installation view
Syzygy conjunct
2019
Oil on stained glass, recycled Australian hardwood (old Goulburn bridge), bronze close-readers
32.0 x 21.5 cm
Alyxia Cusp
2019
Oil on stained glass, recycled Australian hardwood (old Goulburn bridge), bronze close-readers
30.5 x 28.0 cm
Spermum Waxing
2019
Oil on stained glass, recycled Australian hardwood (old Goulburn bridge), bronze close-readers
30.5 x 30.5 cm
Chrysos Sextile
2019
Oil on stained glass, recycled Australian hardwood (old Goulburn bridge), bronze close-readers
30.0 x 36.0 cm
Diptera trine
2019
Oil on stained glass, recycled Australian hardwood (old Goulburn bridge), bronze close-readers
36.5 x 25.0 cm
Leuca Quincunx
2019
Oil on stained glass, recycled Australian hardwood (old Goulburn bridge), bronze close-readers
40.0 x 30.5 cm
Stations direct
2019
oil on the reverse of tempered glass, recycled Australian hardwood frame (old Goulburn bridge)
diptych, each panel: 70.0 x 70.0 cm
Xanthos retrograde
2019
oil on the reverse of tempered glass, recycled Australian hardwood frame (old Goulburn bridge)
60.0 x 40.0 cm
Cosmic Downloads: Institutional Agility
2019
Oil on tempered glass with steel frames and bronze microbat close-readers
diptych, each panel: 74.0 diameter x 3.0 cm
Aquarius Rising
2020
oil on 4mm toughened glass, recycled timber frame
diptych, each panel 60.0 x 60.0 cm
Circe-kirke
2020
oil on 4mm toughened glass, recycled timber frame
diptych, each panel 115.0 x 115.0 cm
Psychotria
2020
oil on 4mm toughened glass, recycled timber frame
diptych, each panel 70.0 x 70.0 cm
Rhyolitic
2020
oil on 4mm toughened glass, recycled timber frame
diptych, each panel 90.0 x 90.0 cm
Ur-Kommune
2020
oil on 4mm toughened glass, recycled timber frame
115.0 x 95.0 cm
Police Camp: Passive Recreation Area
2020
Installation View
Police Camp: Passive Recreation Area,
2020
Installation View
Clare Milledge EDM
2020
Elatha and Ériu
2021
oil on toughened glass, bronze close-readers
diptych, overall 110.0 x 221.5 cm (each panel 110.0 x 110.0 cm)
Sruth
2021
oil on toughened glass, bronze close-readers
diptych, overall 110.0 x 221.5 cm (each panel 110.0 x 110.0 cm)
Three shouts on a hill
2021
oil on recycled toughened glass, bronze close-readers
triptych, overall 45.0 x 144.0 cm (each panel 45.0 x 46.5 cm)
Kennings
2021
oil on recycled toughened glass, bronze close-readers
34.5 x 34.5 cm
Gamal mac Figail & Camald mac Ríaghaild
2021
oil on recycled toughened glass, bronze close-readers
34.2 x 34.2 cm
Dychymig Dychymig: Tree Alphabet
2021
installation view
Dychymig Dychymig: Tree Alphabet
2021
installation view
Dychymig Dychymig: Tree Alphabet
2021
installation view