Michaela Pegum

Mixed media sculptor | Preston, Australia

The grace of an organic palette

Michaela's improvisational dance background informs her practice
She electroforms textiles to create her sculptures and jewellery
She works with materials in their raw states

Assembled through an intuitive, impromptu language, Michaela Pegum's jewellery and sculptures transmits an energy so strong, it prompts viewers to wonder if they emit sound, continue to grow, or exist as something organic, alive and uncontained. Working with materials such as electroformed velvet, she manipulates amperage, chemicals and metals to allow sediments to accrete over time. Michaela creates forms that may be rigid or porous, smooth and metallic, or bulbous and mineral-like, with organic finishes that range in hue from vibrant to subtle. "I begin with an idea or instruction and respond instinctively," she says, drawing on the same sensibility from her experimental dance background. “It is a conversation based on feelings, with a sense of something being uncovered."

Interview

What informs your work?: I am interested in the space between things, stretching apart a moment where one thing becomes another. This was part of my dance practice: exploring transitions between everyday body mechanics and extraordinary movements, and working within an elastic space where you are moving from the known into the unknown.
How do you create the colours for your pieces?: I am compelled to work with a material’s inherent properties, its raw and naked state. I cannot bring myself to paint on top of something. Even though my work does not look minimal, minimalism exists in terms of working with a material’s natural essence and potential for colour and patina.
Do you consciously create works that feel alive and organic?: I am drawn to the organic because it is uncontained and embodies a multitude of possibilities. I am interested in depth and shadow, and creating spaces in the object that are not exposed completely. This way, there is a place for the viewer to travel inside the work.
Has the time you spent in the desert affected your practice?: I am interested in the perceptive threshold between the beautiful and the frightening. The desert precipitates this as it puts you right up against your mortality, how vulnerable you are and how powerful the universe is. There is a wonderful comfort that emerges when you allow yourself to be embraced and nurtured by this enormity.

Michaela Pegum is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2016 and she started teaching in 2022