EXHIBITION DATES: 21 August – 17 October, 2026
OFFICIAL OPENING: Friday 21 August, 6pm
COST: Free
Details
For years, Christiane Keller has been captivated by the intricate patterns etched into rock striations. While camping along the south coast, she developed a process to transform these patterns and their colours into fibre sculptures that extend off the wall. Each piece begins as a precise reproduction of the rock’s surface, transferred onto frames of recycled wire and woven with natural fibres and repurposed materials. Some fibres are dyed to match the colours of the rocks, while recycled elements—including marine debris collected from local beaches—bring new life to discarded objects. The exhibition is complemented by a short documentary film offering insight into Christiane’s artistic process. Her work celebrates the distinctive coastal environment cherished by many Canberrans and demonstrates how waste materials can be transformed into enduring art. Through these sculptures, nature, community, and sustainability intersect, revealing unexpected beauty in both the landscape and the materials we often overlook.
About the Artist
Trained as an anthropologist, art historian and curator, Christiane spent the last 20 years working with Aboriginal artists and their communities across Australia. She learned twining, coiling and string making from fibre artists in Arnhem Land and worked extensively with the Tjanpi Desert Weavers in the Central Desert. Both experiences had a profound impact on her life and on her art making.
Her art practice developed parallel to a busy work schedule as researcher, curator, film maker and collections manager. In the last four years she established her own studio and teaching space and participates regularly in exhibitions in Canberra and interstate. She has also been commissioned to create play sculptures for children in private and public settings.
Using natural and recycled materials, her works draws its inspiration from nature while transcending perceived barriers of utility and sculptural form.
Christiane Keller, Flat Rock 5 print, 2026, Portrait photo Colin MacDougall