SARAH CONTOS
Magnolia
19 September – 7 November 2026

STATION | MELBOURNE

STATION is delighted to present Magnolia, Sarah Contos' fifth solo exhibition with the gallery.

Contos layers and manipulates sourced objects, personal artefacts and vestiges of popular culture to draw attention to the relationships between imagery, form and materiality. Working across sculpture, textiles, painting, video and installation, her work explores how emotional, psychological and theatrical interactions trigger intimate experiential responses within a broader collective memory. Often referencing art history, fashion, theatre and cinema, Contos examines the duality and ontological nature of objects with a contemporary and retrospective mindset.

Magnolia explores ideas of connection and reconnection through materials, objects and cinematic narratives, drawing on the tension between genuine and constructed forms of intimacy. Contos approaches the exhibition like a director, transforming the gallery into a stage where lighting, objects and moving images come together to create a world of interconnected stories. Returning to familiar materials and motifs, Contos brings these elements together to construct an interior world shaped by memory, fantasy and the desire to connect.

Please join us and the artist for the opening celebrations on Saturday 19 September from 4-6pm at STATION Naarm/Melbourne.

To receive the exhibition catalogue, click here.

Installation Views

Artworks

Sarah Contos
Gravity Below 2024
screenprint on canvas
137.0 × 140.0 cm (53.9 × 55.1 in)

Sarah Contos
Gravity Above 2024
screenprint on canvas
137.0 × 140.0 cm (53.9 × 55.1 in)

Sarah Contos
She Blooms 2026
cast aluminium, s/s hardware
50.0 × 30.0 × 15.0 cm (19.7 × 11.8 × 5.9 in)

Sarah Contos
That Hot Air Breath 2026
cast aluminium, tulle, s/s hardware, tulle, electrics
60.0 × 45.0 × 30.0 cm (23.6 × 17.7 × 11.8 in)


Like Light as an Anchor 2026
Sarah Contos
128.0 × 83.0 × 12.0 cm (50.4 × 32.7 × 4.7 in)

Sarah Contos
I Love the Back Seat 2026
cast aluminium, various fabrics, polyfibre
76.0 × 48.0 × 26.0 cm (29.9 × 18.9 × 10.2 in)

Sarah Contos
Apples 2026
cast aluminium, s/s hardware
14.0 × 22.0 × 26.0 cm (5.5 × 8.7 × 10.2 in)

Sarah Contos
The Wind Never Sighed Narcissus (Installation) 2026
100% Australian wool tufted textile, screen print on canvas, cast aluminium, wood, leather, various fabrics, polyfibre, felt, s/s hardware, repurposed boots and belt, cannabis and electrics
installation dimensions variable

Sarah Contos
The Wind Never Sighed Narcissus (Bust) 2026
100% Australian wool tufted textile, screen print on canvas, cast aluminium, wood, leather, various fabrics, polyfibre, s/s hardware
180.0 × 70.0 × 40.0 cm (70.9 × 27.6 × 15.7 in)

Sarah Contos
Self-Help Tower 2026
screenprint and sharpie marker on canvas, cardboard
72.0 × 33.0 × 15.0 cm (28.3 × 13 × 5.9 in)

Sarah Contos
Blume by Einstürzende Neubauten (for MJP) 2026
cast aluminium, tulle and mild steel mount
50.0 × 40.0 × 35.0 cm (19.7 × 15.7 × 13.8 in)

Sarah Contos
Return of the Vampire (film poster) 2026
screenprint and vinyl on canvas, polyfibre
240.0 × 150.0 × 6.0 cm (94.5 × 59.1 × 2.4 in)

Sarah Contos
Solitude is an Energy 2026
cast aluminium and repurposed headphones
40.0 × 16.0 × 12.0 cm (15.7 × 6.3 × 4.7 in)

Sarah Contos
STATION_UNSWGalleries_SarahContos_2024_credit_JacquieManning-108 2024
digital video, single channel, colour, stereo, 8:56 minutes