True Blue & a Little Bit of Yellow — UNITED. The second exhibition by True Blue & a Little Bit of Yellow expanded the circle. This time, Ukrainian and Australian artists came together, united by solidarity and a shared belief in the power of art to help.
Seventeen artists participated in UNITED, a collective effort where local creatives gathered their talent for a clear purpose — to raise funds for humanitarian aid supporting Ukrainians affected by the war.
Held at Curl Curl Creative Space Gallery from 21–24 July, the exhibition became a meeting point of cultures, generosity, and creative voices. We are deeply thankful to everyone who took part, visited, supported the artists, and contributed to this cause.
Ukraine: Secrets of Resilience was an exhibition by True Blue & a Little Bit of Yellow, presented at Sydney Town Hall to mark one year since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. I wanted to find a way to help people in Australia understand what war is — not in abstract terms, but through human experience. That idea became Secrets of Resilience. I went through a year of devastating news and personal testimonies, selecting stories that resonated most deeply and spoke about survival, loss, strength, and endurance. From these stories, I created a series of posters combining documentary photographs, written accounts, and artworks — my own and those of fellow artists — alongside real objects carrying personal and symbolic meaning. Each element was chosen carefully, so the exhibition could be read, felt, and experienced rather than simply viewed. Working through so much human pain was emotionally demanding. Revisiting these stories left a lasting mark, but I believe the process was necessary. The exhibition allowed many visitors to imagine themselves in a place of conflict and offered a glimpse into how people continue to live, endure, and remain human under unimaginable circumstances. It was not an easy exhibition — but it was an important one.
Mosaic has always fascinated me for its quiet complexity. There is something magical in planning to deconstruct a design into small pieces, only to assemble it again into a new whole. Each fragment carries its own presence, yet only truly comes alive in relationship to the others. Our eye moves naturally along the lines between the pieces, enjoying the rhythm of separation as much as the image they form together. We see the individual elements, the design they create collectively, and the spaces in between — all at once. That simultaneous experience is what makes mosaic so compelling to me: multifaceted, layered, and endlessly engaging. Beyond its visual richness, mosaic surfaces are also wonderfully practical. They are not afraid of a hot cup, a wet glass, a scratch, or a spill. This combination of beauty and durability is what makes mosaic especially appealing to me — art that can be lived with, touched, and used every day.
