A lemon is on the wall, in all its glory. It could not be more in-place on the floral wallpaper of The Squatter’s studio whilst Jaq Davies is the Artist in Residence. During her February 2026 residency, Jaq has orchestrated an eclectic amalgamation of bits and bobs to extend from and converse with her paintings and drawings on paper pinned here, there and everywhere. There seems no limit to what will go with what. However, it is clear that a deep intuition and years of experience guides how Jaq combines all this stuff. Paper legs suggestive of bones hang from a box holding brushes suspended on a nail. Cardboard arms are floating mid-air like clouds. They rain down a dance of pincushion daisies throughout the room. Her studio installation creates a magical whimsical scene inviting one to step in.
These pincushion daisy beauties have been erupting all over the landscape of The Foundations development site. I walk with Jaq whilst she forages small treasures of site refuse for her installation and sculptural works. We check out previous Artist in Residence Lizzie Buckmaster Dove’s ‘Pooling moon’ a site-specific 8 metre circle of granite rocks. Pincushion daisies cluster in wild abandon from the rains that have washed into the swale of the ring prompting their prolific summer growth. Jaq, a professional Gardener by day, tunes into the daisy’s abundance across the site. Last time she was here onsite as an Artist Guide for The Foundations Draw Portland led by Margaret Hogan, was before this current daisy bloom. Jaq has selected a handful of pincushion daisies for her indoor play of beauty and decay.
The ephemerality of Jaq’s delicate and raw installation work incorporating daisies drying in space speaks of not just her aesthetics but her relish in creating for the sake of it. She finds joy in the moments of the unexpected and of what comes through the process of making. There is no public exhibition here, this scene, these works as they are here in this studio installation are just fleeting and will soon disappear with her departure from the residency.
However, some of what is here in the Squatter’s studio will find moments to be out in the world. Her delightful sculptural work ‘Song’, waiting in The Squatters Studio for more magpie feathers to come, is one such work. An earlier version has been out before with its cowbell base. Soon it will travel, dinging no doubt on its way, to Kandos for Domestic Dreams, a group exhibition of diverse Central West artists at Wayout Artspace on from 7 March to 26 April 2026.
Before she leaves the Squatter’s Residency, I hear Jaq has been mark making with Harrie Fasher too, down in the expanse of The Harrie Fasher studio. I imagine being in Harrie’s studio, felt quite familiar for Jaq. Not just a loved Gardener, Jaq is one of the Artist Educators at Orange Regional Gallery (ORG) where she has recently been immersed in Harrie Fasher’s solo exhibition Before Dawn at ORG from 28 November 2025 to 28 February 2026. Sticks and Stones, a children’s school holiday workshop, inspired by Harries work from her ORG solo exhibition is just one workshop where Jaq has been guiding young ones to create sculptures. We look forward to her next return here to Portland. Maybe to run a workshop with the students at Portland Central School or simply to continue her creative conversations with this place being part of the Creative Foundations Artist Community.
Links
Jaq Davies Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/jaqdaviesart/?hl=en
Jaq Davies: Marks in time, video produced by ORG and directed by Kylie Manning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fHT3CPs2vY
Jaq Davies, Arts OutWest Plinth Show
https://artsoutwest.org.au/jaq-davies-selects-3d-works-for-the-orange-plinth-show/
Studio visit by Corner Store Gallery, Orange NSW
Image credit: N Mason
