Isadora Vaughan

Isadora Vaughan’s process-based and research-driven practice is informed by interests in permaculture, material intelligence, and the interdependence of human and non-human life. Vaughan’s immersive environments and stand-alone sculptural works are characterised by tensions between materiality and form, and often bring together readymade and industrial objects with rich organic matter. Oscillating somewhere between the formal and the alchemical, and employing a process of speculative questioning that draws from geology, craftsmanship and science, Isadora’s works encourage audiences to reflect on and foster a sense of connection with the natural environment.

Vaughan is an early-career artist who is gaining significant recognition for her multi-sensory sculptural installations. In 2020, Vaughan was awarded a prestigious Melbourne Prize for Urban Sculpture (Professional Development Award). In 2019 she was a finalist in the Ramsay Art Prize, Australia's premier prize for emerging artists, and the Sidney Myer Fund Australian Ceramic Award. In recent years, she has been invited to create new commissions for The National 2021: New Australian Art, Carriageworks, Sydney; Overlapping Magisteria: The 2020 Macfarlane Commissions, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne; and TarraWarra Biennial 2018: From Will to Form, TarraWarra Museum of Art, Victoria. Vaughan has had significant solo exhibitions at Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne, and Gertrude Glasshouse, Melbourne.