Jill Orr presents a new body of watercolours at Straitjacket, drawing on the flowers grown in her garden as both subject and point of return.

Responding to a difficult and tragic time in the world, Orr turns to the natural forms close at hand. The zinnias, bees and butterflies in her chemical-free garden become a way to steady the breath, to observe life returning, and to consider the fragile common ground beneath grief, beauty and endurance.

Orr’s practice spans painting and drawing. She first exhibited in Ghana in 1974 and has exhibited continuously since. She studied in Canberra and London, completing a Graduate Diploma of Fine Arts in Sydney in 1983. Her work has been selected as a finalist in the Dobell Drawing Prize, Maitland Art Prize and others, and is held in private and public collections.

After working as an arts administrator in London and Sydney, Orr moved to Newcastle in 1984 and taught at Newcastle Art School until 2014. This is her second solo exhibition at Straitjacket.