Vipoo Srivilasa support materials for
Creative Australia Fellowships, 2026

Shrine of Life, 2021

In Shrine of Life, I acknowledge my identity while building on the audience-oriented nature of my previous pieces. I created five contemporary deities to represent qualities important to me: identity, love, equality, spirituality, creativity, and security.

Visitors are invited to make a paper flower offering to one of the deities in order to request blessings and protection.

Glaze ceramic with gold lustre and mixed media. Installation, dimension varies.  
The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT10)
Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane

Wellness Deity, 2021

During Melbourne’s lockdown in 2020–2021, I invited people to imagine and draw a deity character with a protective divine power to combat the effects of the virus, fostering wellness.

Nineteen of these imaginative deities became the inspiration for my ceramic sculptures, each uniquely shaped by the personal stories shared.

To further bring the project to life, I commissioned creative writings from fellow artists to accompany each sculpture, capturing the emotions and experiences of this unprecedented time.

Glazed porcelain. Dimension various - approximately H 30 CM 
Linden New Arts, Melbourne

Watch Wellness Deity ABC short film.

The Diverse Dominion Deities, 2023

Diverse Dominion Deities explores the fragility of diversity in Australia through four mythical creatures representing cultural, racial, gender, and cognitive diversity.

The piece combines mass-produced ceramic animals, adorned with my handmade porcelain flowers, and blue deities crafted from air-dry clay. This mix of materials symbolises the diverse world of clay, serving as an allegory for cultural diversity.

By embellishing the animals with flowers, I transform their original form, meaning, and function—reflecting how the merging of cultures creates new identities and perceptions.

Found ceramic, handmade porcelain and mixed media. Dimension various - tallest H 45 CM
Australian Design Centre, Sydney

Mud to Masterpieces, 2025 (installation)

In Mud to Masterpieces, visitors are invited to make a paper doll offering to one of the deities to request blessings, protection, or anything they wish to call into their life.

If the wish is for themselves, they make a self-portrait. If it is for someone else, they make a portrait of that person. The more care and attention given to the doll, the more powerful the offering becomes.

This activity is inspired by a Thai ritual tradition of offering dancing dolls to deities as a gesture of gratitude, devotion, or hope.

Glaze ceramic with gold lustre and mixed media. Installation, dimension varies.  
Maitland Regional Art Gallery, New South Wales.

re/JOY, 2024

In my re/JOY project, I explore the emotional connections we have with objects and how they shape our migration stories. Drawing from my own experience of moving from Thailand to Australia, I invited overseas-born Australians to submit damaged ceramic objects that held personal significance. Through these pieces, I created large-scale sculptures that transform their stories of loss, resilience, and adaptation into a visual narrative.

re/JOY aims to honour these personal journeys while reflecting on the beauty found in imperfection and the strength in rebuilding.

Glazed ceramic, terracotta and gold lustre / approximately H 150 cm
Australian Design Centre

re/JOY
Skippy and the Dog
Inspired by Rebeca’s story, 2024

To honour Rebeca’s story, I created a large kangaroo-inspired deity, reflecting one of the main reasons she wanted to come to Australia. The deity holds a spatula, symbolising Rebeca’s love of cooking.

Inside the deity’s pouch is a joey with a halo made from Rebeca’s broken plates, symbolising new beginnings, resilience, and protection.

re/JOY is a collaborative community project built around seven precious yet broken ceramic objects donated by strangers. Each object carries a personal story of migration to different parts of Australia.

Ceramic and mixed media
150 x 47 x 58 CM

re/JOY
Tree of New Life
inspired by Emiliano's story, 2024

re/JOY is a collaborative community project built around seven precious yet broken ceramic objects donated by strangers. Each object carries a personal story of migration to different parts of Australia.

For this work, Emiliano gave me a broken Tree of Life that his aunt had given him before he left Mexico. In response, I created a new Tree of Life with a large root system, symbolising Emiliano’s settlement in Australia.

I also made a small altar for the original tree, featuring two golden figurines representing Emiliano and his Australian partner caring for the tree and their new life together.

Ceramic and mixed media
178 x 60 x 34 cm

re/JOY
Goddess of Independence
Inspired by Sultana’s story, 2024

To honour Sultana’s story, I created a temple-like space inside the sculpture to hold the tile as a goddess. The tile was brought from India, but broke in half after she arrived in Australia. Her marriage ended not long after.

The work honours Sultana’s resilience, independence, and the important milestones in her life, carrying her story within its form.

re/JOY is a collaborative community project built around seven precious yet broken ceramic objects donated by strangers. Each object carries a personal story of migration to different parts of Australia.

Ceramic and mixed media
157 x 50 x 32 CM

re/JOY
From Courgettes to Zucchinis
Inspired by Becca’s story, 2024

For Becca’s story, I created a figurine with one hand holding barbecue tongs and the other holding a bottle of beer, capturing a sunny day barbecue in the park and representing Becca’s happy life in Australia.

The head is an esky with a courgette lip. On top of the esky sits Becca’s broken bowl, which her grandmother used to serve her chicken soup every Friday night.

One leg of the figurine is decorated with a kangaroo motif, Australia’s national animal, and the other with a lion motif, the UK’s national animal. Together, they tell the story of Becca’s journey.

re/JOY is a collaborative community project built around seven precious yet broken ceramic objects donated by strangers. Each object carries a personal story of migration to different parts of Australia.

Ceramic and mixed media
162 x 45 x 33 CM

re/JOY, 2024
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart

In my re/JOY project, I explore the emotional connections we have with objects and how they shape our migration stories. Drawing from my own experience of moving from Thailand to Australia, I invited overseas-born Australians to submit damaged ceramic objects that held personal significance. Through these pieces, I created large-scale sculptures that transform their stories of loss, resilience, and adaptation into a visual narrative.

re/JOY aims to honour these personal journeys while reflecting on the beauty found in imperfection and the strength in rebuilding.

Glazed ceramic, terracotta and gold lustre / approximately H 150 cm