Eden Hobbs
Two Birds, 2026
Black ink and brush, acrylic paint, oil pastel, colour pencil, watercolour, blue ball-point pen, collage, and carbon copy transfer, over graphite on two sheets of multi-media paper
170 x 120cm (A1 x 2)
Artist statement
Two Birds uses a combination of personal narratives to dissect the relationship between pride, grief, and guilt. Scattered across this colourful diptych lay themes of abortion, old pets, and past relationships, all connected by a thread of maternal love that can no longer be claimed.
Between the internalised shame following the eternal surveillance of women’s bodies, lies a vibrant undercurrent of queer joy, as Two Birds insists that shame and pride have no mutual exclusivity, but often go hand in hand.
At its vulnerable core, Two Birds is as colourful as it is earnest, highlighting material experimentation and illustrative flair, amidst an intimately anguishing cycle of birth, death, and necromancy.
Photographs: Anna Kucera
Acknowledgement of Country
UNSW School of Art & Design stands on an important place of learning and exchange first occupied by the Bidjigal and Gadigal peoples.
We acknowledge the Bidjigal and Gadigal peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land that our students and staff share, create and operate on. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend this respect to all First Nations peoples across Australia. Sovereignty has never been ceded.
