Noriko Nakamura — 'Mother and Daughter', 2025

Nakamura’s installation explores the complexity of female embodied experiences and reimagines the narratives of feminine subjectivity for empowerment. The collection of limestone sculptures reflects on the artist’s experiences of pregnancy, childbirth and mothering, exploring the enfolding possibilities of the female body. Each piece has been shaped by hand, avoiding the use of electric tools as a means to intimately respond to and work with the limestone and its material inclinations.

“I see the similarities between the formation of limestone and the growth of a baby in the atomic fluid; both the transformations of limestone and in pregnancy embody possibilities. My stone carving practice aims to shift the subjectivity of the maternal body and beyond.”
In "Mother and Daughter”, the artist has hollowed out two spheres, referring to the wombs of both mother and daughter. The piece draws inspiration from the Buddhist notion of the "womb", referring to the source of birth and protects an unlimited number of sentient beings. “During my pregnancy, my daughter's womb was within my own. Now, at seven years old, she is developing her independence while still maintaining an emotional connection to me.” The flowers at the base of the piece signify the blooming of each spring, representing both the growth of a child and the aging of a mother.

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Noriko Nakamura is a Japanese-born artist based in Castlemaine (Dja Dja Wurrung country). Her practice draws on ideas of Japanese Shinto animism, ritual practice and relationships between humans and the material world. Using traditional stone-carving techniques, Nakamura’s process is slow and labour-intensive, allowing for the development of an intimate relationship between artist, material and form. “In carving, I aim to incorporate each stone's physical characteristics and quality through an intuitive process. I usually have only a rough design sketch or no plan until I start carving. I don’t measure or draw…I instead decide on the forms and the detail as I progress because sometimes there are shells and hard fossils in the stone, so it is impossible to plan and carve as I intended.” Nakamura holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) from the Victorian College of the Arts (2011) and a Master of Visual Arts from La Trobe University (2024). She is currently undertaking a PhD in Visual Arts at the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne.

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In The Making

9 August – 20 September

The act of making is at the heart of conceptual exploration in contemporary craft practice. "Process" can be understood as more than a means to create form but also a space where thought is reconciled, and where creative encounters and new discoveries are found.

In The Making presents the work of four makers traversing this space and demonstrating how process and artistic intention are interdependent. The exhibitors have each honed a distinct material practice, from woodworking and stone-carving to electroplating and textiles, working with their chosen materials as autonomous collaborators, alive with history and spirit.

The exhibition speaks to the heart of what it means to be a maker. It highlights the reciprocal and responsive relationships between the practitioner, the application of craft-based skills and the creative expression that is articulated through materials. It’s all in the making.

Read more about the exhibition here:

Material: Limestone

Dimensions: Approx. 44 x 58 x 34cm