Jo Mellor-Stuart
Website: www.jomellorart.com
Supervisors: Fabri Blacklock, Prudence Gibson
I am a multidisciplinary artist and researcher currently undertaking a PhD at UNSW Art, Design & Architecture. My research explores the intersections between contemporary art, Aboriginal knowledge systems, and environmental marine science, focusing on ecological restoration and collaborative engagement with Country and Sea Country.
I hold a Master of Fine Arts (Research) and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (First Class Honours) from UNSW, as well as a Fine Arts Diploma from Parsons School of Design in New York City. My academic trajectory has been guided by an ecofeminist framework and practice-led methodologies that prioritise Aboriginal knowledge, ethical collaboration, and care-based research. I have an art practice rooted in expanded textile methodologies that integrate slow stitching, embroidery, installation, film and photography to address environmental and cultural concerns. Through socially engaged and site-responsive projects, I have collaborated with Aboriginal Elders, community groups, and environmental marine scientists to explore issues such as the loss of the endangered Posidonia australis seagrass meadows around the eastern seaboard of Australia. My current PhD builds upon these foundations. Working collaboratively with the Gamay Rangers, Elders from La Perouse, The Bahtahbah Aboriginal Land Council and art community and with Professor Adriana Vergés and her team in UNSW’s School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences.
In 2024, I was awarded the Saatchi Art Gallery, London Art for Change Prize (Australia & New Zealand) for textile artworks addressing Cobalt mining and industrial degradation on Wilyakali Country. My textile artworks have been exhibited in both national and international contexts, including art award exhibitions, solo and group exhibitions at UNSW Galleries, Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf, Mosman Art Gallery, Campbelltown Arts Centre and the Saatchi Gallery (London).
- Research area
- Research outputs
Restoring Seagrass, Restoring Connection: An Arts-Based Approach to Understanding Posidonia australis Seagrass Meadows in Sydney Harbour and Macquarie Lakes Through Aboriginal and Scientific Marine Knowledge Amidst Industrial and Climate Threats.