Interview

Written By Adelé Kotzé

Dr Michelle Cox-Hurrell

Michelle is a multidisciplinary visual artist whose practice is shaped by a lifelong curiosity for both art and science. Her creative journey began with painting, but gradually expanded into installation and sculpture—immersive, tactile forms that allowed her to explore light, memory, and transformation through intuitive processes and playful materials. Before fully committing to art, she studied architecture for a year, delving into design concepts. That experience sparked a desire to travel and witness the buildings she had admired from afar. A pivotal moment came in Barcelona, where a beaded flower installation stirred something profound—a sensory experience that deepened her love for spatial storytelling. In Birmingham, UK, Michelle studied a short course in wire sculpture, a practice that continues to inform the textures and forms in her work today. In her twenties, she worked as an atmospheric scientist, driven by a passion for understanding and protecting the planet.

That scientific lens still informs her art, especially in projects that blend art and science. While at university, Michelle won the Verge Art Award for a video project that fused art and science experiments—an early sign of the hybrid path she would follow. She studied traditional painting and drawing at Julian Ashton’s Art School, and later expanded into conceptual art and sculpture at Sydney College of the Arts (SCA), where she was was taught by practicing artists. To broaden her art practice, she also attended a photography course at the Australian Centre for Photography in Sydney and studied subjects in animation and video art while at SCA. Her sculpture was selected for the SCA student show at Caloundra Regional Gallery in Queensland.

Since completing art school, Michelle has exhibited in Melbourne at Off the Kerb Gallery and Trocadero Art Space, and was selected for the Dear Agnes Project—a funded outdoor installation initiative. She is currently represented by Monat Gallery in Madrid, with recent exhibitions at the gallery and participation in international art fairs including ART3F in Monaco and ART MUC in Munich. Her work has recently been shown at M.A.D.S virtual online gallery.

What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?

“I’m a visual artist with a lifelong love of light, colour, and curiosity. Born in the vibrant swirl of the 1970s, I grew up in Australia surrounded by the playful energy of Muppets, bold fashion, and the optimism of the era. My childhood was shaped by inspiring art teachers who nurtured my imagination from primary school through high school, planting the seeds of a creative life. As a first-generation Australian, my heritage is steeped in stories. My parents emigrated from Ireland and Britain in the 1960s—my mother was a ten-pound Pom from a long line of seamstresses, and my father descended from Irish carriage makers. I carry their legacy in my hands: craftsmanship, resilience, and an adventurous spirit.

I enjoyed studying at the SCA campus in Rozelle, Sydney, which was nestled in a historic 19th-century building that felt like a sanctuary for creative minds. My journey has been anything but linear, but every twist has added depth to my practice. I see art as a way to connect disciplines, history, cultures, and emotions—a lens through which to explore light, memory, and the quiet magic of everyday life.”

What inspires you?

“My art begins with a question, a spark, a material remembered from childhood. I work intuitively, often setting myself small challenges: how to make magnetism visible, how to sculpt a flower from aluminium and thread, how to turn a forgotten object into something treasured. Painting is my anchor. I’m currently working with gouache, drawn to its velvety opacity and immediacy. My brushwork is expressive, experimental, and deeply tied to mood. I want the viewer to feel transported by the painting, as if the scene is part of their direct experience. I grew up sewing clothes and wearing dance costumes, surrounded by sequins, wool, ribbons, and cords. These textures live on in my sculptural work, not just as materials but as memories. Historical fashion and floral ornamentation fascinate me—how decoration tells stories, how fabric holds emotion. I’ve always been drawn to the sparkle of beads, the weight of glass, the quiet elegance of semi-precious stones. Sculpture is where I play. I build flowers from wire and mesh, observing the natural world closely—its colours, its structures, its quiet resilience. I love stencil art and spray paint, especially when it transforms the discarded into something radiant. My practice is a celebration of curiosity and transformation. It’s rooted in the joy of making, the beauty of light, and the emotional resonance of form. Whether I’m painting, sculpting, or assembling, I’m always chasing that moment when something ordinary becomes extraordinary—when art sings.”

What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?

“A central theme in my work is the intersection of art and science. Having studied the physics of light and weather, I’m endlessly fascinated by how light moves, bends, and transforms—how it shapes our perception and evokes emotion. This curiosity guides my creative process, whether I’m painting reflections after rain or sculpting forms that echo natural phenomena. I aim to capture light’s beauty in a way that feels fresh and joyful, inviting the viewer to see the world with renewed wonder, as if for the very first time. My paintings revisit the classical theme of the figure in the landscape, inviting the viewer to step into the scene and experience its atmosphere firsthand. I draw inspiration from contemporary photographic sources and occasionally AI-generated imagery, using them as starting points to explore mood, light, and transformation. Like the Impressionists and John Turner, I’m captivated by the interplay of weather and illumination—particularly the dreamy effects of reflections on rain-soaked ground and night-time lights. These elements create soft reflections and shifting textures, allowing the figure and the landscape to merge in a moment of quiet resonance.”

How would you describe your work?

“My recent paintings have been created using gouache—a medium that suits my spontaneous, wet-on-wet painting style. Its quick-drying nature allows me to move intuitively, keeping colours bright, lively, and full of energy. I’m drawn to light effects: reflections after rain, the glow of streetlights, the cinematic mood found in film and photography. These moments inspire my palette, which shifts between soft pastels, saturated hues, and deep tones. For years I avoided black, like the Impressionists, but now I embrace the full spectrum—especially when painting night scenes. My compositions often feature urban landscapes with figurative elements. I favour asymmetry and complexity over clean lines and order. I’m not patient with drying times—I prefer immediacy, movement, and the chaos of creation. This reflects my personality and mental process: I embrace the mess, the layering, the soft edges of light viewed from a distance. My work owes something to the plein air painters of Impressionism, especially in its responsiveness to atmosphere and light. I love mixing colours directly on the canvas, and working all prima, letting unexpected combinations emerge. Each piece begins with curiosity and ends in emotion. I want my paintings to feel immersive—to transport the viewer into a fleeting moment. Whether I’m working with gouache, wire, or beads, I’m always chasing that spark of connection between material, memory, and mood.”

Which artists influence you most?

“My tastes are drawn to the unpredictable, the immersive, the poetic. I’m captivated by installations, especially those that embrace chaos and chance. I remember a stunning piece called The Water Hole that I saw at Australian Centre for Contemporary Art by Gerda Steiner & Jorg Lenzlinger: crystals and plants cultivated in tandem, a living sculpture that blurred the line between nature and intention. It felt like watching entropy bloom. I’m also drawn to the installations of Sara Sze, that elevate the mundane—everyday objects reimagined, transformed into something strange and beautiful. There’s something magical in that tension between order and disorder, between the familiar and the surreal. When it comes to painters, I admire the work of Gustav Klimt, Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keeffe, Basquiat—but Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks (1942) holds a special place. The cinematic lighting, the quiet tension, the scene suspended in time—it’s a portrait of life’s in-between moments. The palette of nighttime low light evokes a kind of emotional chiaroscuro. It’s storytelling without words. Film is another deep influence. I’m a film buff, and I often find myself drawn to photographs that feel cinematic—like stills from a story unfolding just beyond the frame. The cinematography in Taxi Driver by Francis Ford Coppola left a mark on me: gritty, moody, hypnotic. I was also mesmerized by Kieślowski’s Three Colours trilogy—Red, White, and Blue—each film a masterclass in visual poetry. And of course, the dreamlike darkness of David Lynch’s work—his use of shadow and silence—continues to inspire me.

Two of my recent gouache paintings are inspired by photography. I admire the photographs of Liam Wong, who has captured the beauty of the streets of Tokyo. My red umbrella painting was inspired by a photograph by Cesairin Mateo of Khadijat Oseni aka KO @jetsetterproblems.”

Title: Rainy night with Yellow Umbrella. Source: AI Image. Medium: Gouache

Painting. Size: 42.0 x 59. cm

What is your creative process like?

“I’m drawn to figurative images of people in urban landscapes—especially those illuminated by light effects at night, or softened by rain and reflections. These scenes inspire my gouache paintings, where I work intuitively with colour and brush strokes to evoke atmosphere and mood. If the source photograph leans toward abstraction, I embrace that ambiguity, allowing it to shape the composition. My process is fluid and responsive, guided by emotion and the interplay of light, shadow, and movement. My art is a response to wonder. I’m drawn to subjects that make me pause—a glint of light after rain, the intricate structure of a Banksia flower, the quiet drama of night reflections. These moments feel like invitations to look closer, to see the world anew. I work intuitively, often quickly, letting the materials guide me. Gouache allows me to explore mood and movement with immediacy, while mixed-media sculpture gives me space to build stories—biographical explorations shaped into decorative trophies and vases inspired by 19th-century design. I love combining beads, wire, mesh, and fabric, drawing from my childhood memories of dance costumes, surrounded by sequins, and ribbon.

When I paint, I feel relaxed—time stands still. I sit close to the canvas, immersed in colour, often mixing paint directly on the surface to create spontaneity. My brushstrokes are expressive, and I focus on capturing a mood that transports the viewer into the moment. I want my paintings to feel like a portal—an emotional echo of the photograph or memory that inspired them. I’m inspired by nature, history, and the decorative arts. I research the origins of decorative objects, explore physics or magnetism or explore childhood materials, and challenge myself to transform the ordinary into something treasured. My process is both playful and focused—sometimes chaotic, sometimes logical—but always driven by joy. I create for myself and for others. I hope my work invites people to slow down, to notice beauty, to feel something. It’s both catharsis and commentary, internally motivated but outwardly shared. Each piece is a homage—to light, to memory, to the quiet magic of the everyday.”

What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?

“I believe art has the power to reflect society and capture cultural shifts. In my paintings, I often depict scenes of everyday life—women walking alone through cityscapes, figures illuminated by the glow of smartphones—moments that speak to our contemporary experience. I paint figures in a softly defined way, allowing abstraction to shape the mood and meaning. In my New York City Lights Painting, the woman views the scene, we in turn view her viewing—creating a layered perspective that invites reflection. My use of soft lines and shifting colours reinforces this sense of ambiguity and emotional resonance. In my earlier work, I’ve explored political themes such as climate change and feminism, believing deeply in the power of art to offer commentary on the world around us. I admire artists who respond to society with courage and nuance, and I strive to do the same. A recurring motif in my paintings is the solo female figure in the landscape—a symbol of journey and strength. These figures reflect both personal and collective experiences, inviting viewers to consider the emotional undercurrents of contemporary life.”

Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?

“While in Sydney, I exhibited at the Verge Gallery and was awarded the Verge Art Prize. After I moved back to Melbourne, I exhibited at Off the Kerb Gallery, Trocadero Art Space and participated in the Melbourne Fringe Festival, where I explored themes of climate change through animation and reflected on womanhood across different life stages. I was selected for the Dear Agnes Project, a funded outdoor installation initiative that brought contemporary land art into public spaces. For this, I created large-scale Banksia sculptures—highlighting endangered native species—and used curve stitching and rope to form circular forms, creating an installation beneath a grove of trees. My sculpture was part of a 2024 virtual exhibition called Authentic with Tapiial Virtual. I am currently represented by Monat Gallery in Madrid, participating in the Interstice exhibition at the gallery in 2025. Monat Gallery has provide the opportunity to exhibit my paintings and sculpture in international art fairs such as ART3F in Monaco and Art MUC in Munich. I have participated in shows with Arrival Gallery in Athens and Brooklyn this year and I was in a show with the M.A.D.S gallery metaverse.”

 
Adelé Kotzé
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