Happy Australian is a series of ten ceramic portraits inspired by selected submissions of people designing their most ‘Australian Eleganza Extravaganza outfit’ to wear on the happiest occasion of their life.

What we wear can create our identity. The clothes we put on affect our mood and wearing your best outfit sure creates happiness. By asking people to design fashion, it makes it easy for them to tell their story. The stories I received were really deep and personal. I incorporated elements into the portraits based on their design and story, but also included my own interpretation, imagination and story into the works.

Happy Australian was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery as part of the Portrait23: Identity, a major exhibition cerebrating the National Portrait Gallery’s third decade.