Sophie Dumaresq is an interdisciplinary artist who brings perspectives of absurdity, queerness and humour to creative, critical robotics, automata and mechanics. Working across photography, video installation, sculpture and performance, her work explores what it is to try and communicate in a universe filled with beings whose brains, existence and or bodies are built inherently differently to that of your own. Her artistic practice explores what it means to share joy, love and laughter in our relationships with both other humans and non-humans. She seeks to bring voices of inclusion and difference to future and emerging cultures of robotics, automation and computation.
Her work explores the politics of care and mischief making through symbiotic cycles of consumption, destruction, and creation, which demonstrate how as a species we relate, show empathy, learn, and evolve with and within our surrounding environment. Sophie graduated from ANU honours first in her year in 2023, winning the Peter and Lena Karmel Anniversary award for the most outstanding graduating body of work from the Australian Nation University’s School of Art and Design. She was also awarded a Peter and Lena Karmel Visual Arts Honours Scholarship during her honours candidacy, as well as three 2023 Emerging Artist Support Scheme Awards.
In 2023 she also undertook a Digital Leadership Fellowship through Creative Australia and Creative New Zealand. During this fellowship she was mentored by world renowned performance artist Stelarc. 2023 is also the year in which she was selected and participated in the Queer Development Program through Performance Space and performed at PACT, Sydney as part of 2023 Queer Nu Werk.
In 2021 at the end of her Bachelors in Visual Arts she received the 2021 Peter and Lena Karmel Anniversary Prize in Art for the most outstanding graduating body of work from the Australian Nation University’s School of Art and Design, as well as the Eckersley’s Materials Emerging Artist Support Scheme Award.
She completed her Diploma in Photography (honours) at Spéos International photography school - Paris and has participated in group exhibitions in Australia, America, France, Greece and Germany. Her work is in the Macquarie Group Collection as well as several distinguished private collections.
She works primarily in Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country as well as Yuin Country, located on Australia's eastern coast and capital city, Canberra, Australia.
Contact: sophie.d@live.com.au
Education
The Australian National University School of Art and Design, Canberra, Australia 2018 - 2023.
Speos, International School of Photography, Paris, France 2011 - 2013.
Questacon, Canberra, Australia, Student Internship - 2009.
Residencies/Fellowships
Kickstarter Program through Next Wave, Australia. Mentorship with Sally Golding and a group residency to be carried out in 2024 - 2025 over a 18 month period.
M16, Canberra, Australia, as part of an Emerging Artist Support Scheme Award (awarded in 2023). Residency to be carried out in 2024 over a 6 month period.
Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Canberra, Australia, as part of an Emerging Artist Support Scheme Award (awarded in 2023) Residency to be carried out in 2024 over a 12 month period.
CanKan Laboratory through The Canberra Art Biennale and Cementa Festival, Canberra and Kandos, Australia. Carried out over a spread out two week period in 2023 and 2024.
Queer Development Program through Performance Space and PACT, Sydney, Australia. Carried out in 2023, over a two week period.
Digital Leadership Fellowship through Creative Australia and Creative New Zealand. Carried out in 2023, over a 6 month period.
Selected Exhibitions & Live Performances
Group Exhibition, Artist Collective: Juncture, View 2024, Photo Access, Canberra, Australia, 2024.
Group Exhibition, Cruel Optimism, Tributary Projects, Canberra, Australia, 2023.
Live Performance, Queer Nu Werk - Performance Space & PACT, Sydney, Australia, 2023.
Group Installation, Artist Collective: Juncture, Uncharted Territories Festival, Kambri, Canberra, Australia, 2023.
Group Exhibition, Ravenswood Women’s Art Prize, Sydney, Australia, 2023.
Group Exhibition, X Rainbow takeover Exhibition for Pride 2023, Craft ACT, Canberra, Australia, 2023.
Group Exhibition, The Land and its Psyche - Macquarie Group Emerging Artist Prize, Sydney, Australia, 2022.
Group Exhibition, William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize, Monash, Australia, 2022.
Live Performance, Live Dreams - JESTER, Performance Space & Carriage Works, Vivid Festival, Sydney, Australia, 2022.
Group Exhibition, New Alumni, The SOAD ANU Gallery, Canberra, Australia, 2022.
Group Exhibition, Mundane Objects, Tributary Projects, Canberra, Australia, 2022.
Group Exhibition, ANU SOAD Grad Show Selections, M16, Canberra, Australia, 2021.
Group Exhibition, New Currents, BBA Gallery, Berlin, Germany, 2021.
Group Exhibition, INSIGHT OUT, Ambush Gallery, Canberra, Australia, 2021.
Group Exhibition, Mullins Australia Conceptual Prize for Photography, Magnet Gallery, Melbourne, Australia, 2020.
Group Exhibition, Goulburn Art Award, Goulburn, Australia, 2020
Group Exhibition, Today I Tomorrow You, Art Not Apart, Nishi Gallery, Canberra, Australia, 2020
Group Exhibition, Tough Love, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne, Australia, 2020.
Group Exhibition, Fire Fight, Nishi Gallery, Canberra, Australia, 2020
Group Exhibition, VIEW2020, Huw Davies Gallery, Canberra, Australia, 2020.
Group exhibition, Postcard Salon 2, The Jarvis Dooney Gallery, Berlin, Germany 2019.
Group Exhibition, Post HomoSapiens, Exploring narratives which reflect on transhumanism and topics such as automatisation, acceleration and human mutations caused by the modern world, Der Greif, Guest Room Curator Monica Allende, Online, 2018.
Group Exhibition, Renaissance, The Hamlet, Canberra, Australia 2018.
Group Exhibition, European Month of Photography, Emerging Talents, Berlin Blue Gallery, Berlin, Germany, 2018.
Group Exhibition, Islands, Boehmers, European Month of Photography, Berlin, Germany, 2018.
Group exhibition, CLIP Landscape Award, Perth Centre for Photography, Perth, Australia, 2017.
Group exhibition, (Three examples of) The Photograph as an example of Contemporary Art, The Jarvis Dooney Gallery, Berlin, Germany, 2016.
Group exhibition, Exercise Partielle, Society de Curiosities, Paris, France, 2014.
Selected Publications and Awards
VIEW2024 (Artist Collective: Juncture) Future Leaders in Photo media within the ACT and surrounding regions, 2024.
Peter and Lena Karmel Anniversary Prize in Art, 2023.
Canberra Contemporary Art Space mentorship and exhibition, Emerging Artist Support Scheme Award, 2023.
M16 residency and exhibition, Emerging Artist Support Scheme Award, 2023.
Studio Studio Emerging Artist Support Scheme Award, 2023.
Ravenswood Women’s Art Prize, Finalist, 2023.
2022 Macquarie Group Emerging Artist Prize, Finalist, 2022.
William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize, Finalist, Image Thirst Trap: Origin du Monde, 2022.
Peter and Lena Karmel Anniversary Prize in Art, 2021.
Eckersley’s Materials Emerging Artist Support Scheme Award, 2021.
Critics Choice Award, ACT ART AWARDS, Category Visual Arts, Photography, Work The Hairy Panic, 2020.
Mullins Australian Conceptual Photography Prize, Finalist, Image The Hairy Panic, Untitled #15, 2020.
Goulburn Art Award, Finalist, Image The Hairy Panic, Untitled #8, 2020.
VIEW2020 Future Leaders in Photo media within the ACT and surrounding regions, 2020.
“Becoming more present” Anna O’Hehir Curator of Photography at The Australian National Gallery, VIEW2020 Future Leaders in Photo media within the ACT and surrounding regions, 2020.
“On powerless humans and the borders of Extinction” Steve Bisson, Urbanautica, 2019.
CLIP Landscape Award, Finalist, Image Splintering, 2017.
Tribu Magazine, series Giants, 2015.
Magazine #Photography, series Squared, 2013.