LOARINGS.COM

JODY LOARING

Contemporary Australian Visual Artist — Sculpture, Fibre Art & Mixed Media

Jody Loaring is a contemporary Australian multidisciplinary visual artist recognised internationally for sculptural works that integrate driftwood, fibre, and mixed media. Originally from Margaret River in the southwest of Western Australia and now based in Broome, her practice is shaped by the diverse landscapes of the state, from southern coastal environments to the tidal shorelines and expansive terrain of the Kimberley.

In recognition of her craftsmanship and artistic contribution, Loaring was selected as a Master Artisan by the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship and invited to participate in the Homo Faber Biennale in Venice, Italy. Her inclusion in the international Homo Faber Guide places her among a globally recognised group of master makers advancing contemporary craft practice.

Working across sculpture, fibre art, and mixed media, Loaring creates sculptural forms using gathered natural materials including driftwood, grass fibres, reclaimed rope, and organic and synthetic textiles. These are combined with metals, plaster, and armature structures through processes of coiling, stitching, binding, and weaving. Her practice reflects an ongoing engagement with landscape, material memory, and the relationship between human experience and environment, informed by both lived experience and inherited narrative.

Family history and personal experience form an important conceptual foundation within the work. Through her sculptural language, Loaring explores themes of origins, memory, spirit, and place, often engaging with ideas of family, trauma, and notions of home. These layered investigations create an ongoing dialogue around identity and belonging within the Australian experience.

Her studio process is grounded in direct engagement with place, where materials shaped by time, weather, and tide are carefully selected and transformed into resolved sculptural works. Bridging contemporary sculpture and fibre art traditions, her work emphasises material intelligence, structural integrity, and conceptual depth.

With over three decades of professional practice, Loaring has exhibited widely across Western Australia and internationally, including at the Homo Faber Biennale in Venice and Miniartextil in Como, Italy. Her work is held in public and private collections, and her practice contributes to the evolving field of contemporary Australian sculpture and fibre art.

Through her work, Loaring explores the intersection of landscape, material, memory, and lived narrative, creating sculptural forms that hold both the physical presence and emotional resonance of Western Australia’s environments.

Exhibition proposals, collaborative projects and institutional partnerships are welcomed. Enquire here.

Collectors seeking sculptural or mixed media work grounded in Australian landscape, material inquiry, and narrative depth are warmly invited to enquire.

Selected education:

2019 - 2020 TAE401 – BAB2 Cert IV Training & Assessment. North Regional TAFE

1989 - 1991 Bachelor of Visual Arts. Edith Cowan University

Duo/small group exhibitions:

2024 Newlyweds’ Dream - HEART Gallery, Margaret River Arts. WA

2018 Deadly Threadly - Broome, WA.

1995 Duo Exhibition with Benjamin Loaring - Excentrix Gallery, Cowaramup WA

1994 Spring Festival - Vasse Felix Winery, Willyabrup, WA

1991 Earth, Wood & Water - Margaret River Art Galleries, WA

Selected group exhibitions:

2025 Shinju Matsuri Art Prize Broome. W.A

2025 MINIARTEXTIL 34 — ETERNO DESIDERIO. Palazzo del Broletto in Como. Italy

2025 Kimberley Art Prize. Derby WA

2025 Finalist. The Jury Art Prize. Port Hedand. Western Australia

2024 Homo Faber 2024 Craft Biennale.The Journey of Life, Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice

2021/22/23 Shinju Matsuri Art Prize. Broome. WA

2021/22/23 Kimberley Art Prize. Derby WA

2018/19 View to Asia Outdoor Sculptural Exhibition. Broome WA

2017/18/20 Finalist. City of Busselton Art Award. Busselton. WA

2016/17/18 Finalist. FORM Hedland Art Award. Port Hedland. WA

2016/17 Shinju Matsuri Fringe Festival - Artists Open Trail with Ben Loaring. Broome. WA

2012/13/15/16/17/18/19 Kimberley Art Prize. Derby WA

2011/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20 Shinju Matsuri Art Prize. Broome. WA

1998 Kimberley Art Prize. Derby. WA

1998  Finalist. West Farmers Biannual Regional Craft Award - Craft West Gallery, WA

1994 Finalist. South West Survey. Bunbury Art Galleries-BRAG. WA

1994  New Visions - Margaret River Art Galleries, W.A

1993 Studio Contemporaries - ECU Mt Lawley Campus. WA

1992 Willyabrup Spring Festival -Mosswood Winery, WA

1990 Work in Progress – WA Craft Council, Perth. WA

1990  Edith Emerges, Moores Building, Fremantle. WA

1990  In This Place. Sound & Lighting Installation. Nolan Studio, ECU Mt Lawley Campus.

Awards:

2025 Winner Sculpture. Collaboration with Benjamin Loaring. Shinju Matsuri Art Prize Broome. W.A

2024 Recognised as a Master Artisan by the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship. Geneva

2023 Winner Sculpture - Shinju Matsuri Art Prize. Broome. WA

2021 Highly Commended - Shinju Matsuri Art Prize. Broome. W.A.

2020 Judges Special Mention - Sculpture Shinju Matsuri Art Prize Broome. WA

2019 Winner 1st - View to Asia Outdoor Sculptural Exhibition. Broome WA 2018 Winner 3rd - View to Asia Outdoor Sculptural Exhibition. Broome W.A.

2017 Highly Commended. Kimberley Art Prize, Derby, W.A.

2016 Winner Acquisitive Art Prize (Sculpture). Shinju Matsuri Art Prize. Broome, W.A.

2015 Winner Mixed Media - Sculpture - Kimberley Art Prize. Derby WA

2014 Winner Mixed Media - Sculpture - Shinju Matsuri Art Prize. Broome. WA

1998 Winner Sculpture - Kimberley Art Prize. Derby. WA

1994 Winner Sculpture - Southwest Survey. Bunbury Art Galleries- BRAG. WA

Residencies

2024 Ruby’s Cottage. Prevelly Park WA. Self funded private residency project development

2023 Ruby’s Cottage. Prevelly Park WA. Self funded private residency project development

2022 Ruby’s Cottage. Prevelly Park WA. Self funded private residency project development

Collections:

Shire of Broome Public Collection. W.A.; Horn Private Collection Bunbury. W.A.; Miere Private Collection. Perth. WA.; numerous state private collections.

Professional Appointments:

2017 - Present. Lecturer Visual Arts North Regional TAFE. Broome Campus.

2025 West Kimberley Arts Forum. Artists Presentation. HomoFaber Craft Biennale - The Journey of Life

2023       Advanced Industry Lecturer – Visual Arts North Regional TAFE. Broome Campus

2023   Judge. Worn Art. Kiwi Raranga The Weave Worn. Broome WA

2020/19 Shinju Matsuri Golden Jubilee HOME Installation. Collaborating artist with international artist Lisa Foo.

Funded through Tourism WA. Shinju Matsuri Festival 

2020   Judge. Worn Art. Te Kore A world Beyond. Broome WA

2020   Shinju Matsuri 2020 Golden Jubilee. Orizome & Orizuru Community Workshops

2019   Shinju Matsuri 2020 Golden Jubilee. Cockle Shells Community Workshop, with Yawuru Elder Kevin Puertollano. 

2019 PechaKucha Broome September. Weaving Our Way.

1996   Sessional Lecturer Southwest Regional TAFE. Margaret River Campus.

Bibliography:

2024 Homo Faber Guide, Geneva, Switzerland. https://www.homofaber.com/en/discover/jody-loaring-ibgyyz

2024 Homo Faber 2024 Craft Biennale. The Journey of Life, Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice. E-catalogue.  https://2024.homofaber.com/ecatalogue/objects/02iTG000000xRqbYAE

2024 Newlyweds’ Dream. Exhibition & Catalogue Essay (words by Tanya Lee)

2019 Golden Jubilee Shinju Matsuri Program 2018 Broome Advertiser July.

2018 Broome Advertiser April.

2016 Broome Advertiser 22 September.

2016 Goolari Media. Breakfast with Russell Dann.

2016  ABC Radio Kimberley. Vanessa Mills.

2008 Closest Circus – Works from the Horn Collection. 2008.

1994 Augusta Margaret River Mail March 9th.

1994  Augusta Margaret River Mail July 13th.

1994 ABC Radio Series Artifacts. Sharon P. Jones

1991 Craft West Summer Issue 4. WA Style. July/August Issue.

Commissions:

2020 & 2019 Shinju Matsuri Golden Jubilee HOME Installation. Collaborating artist with international artist Lisa Foo. Funded through Tourism WA. Shinju Matsuri Festival

2019 Private commission for A & J McDonald.

Membership: Homo Faber Guide; Craft Victoria; World Crafts Council- Australia; Arts Margaret River.