Artist Showcase | Grace Lillian Lee

Grace Lillian Lee was born in 1988 and grew up in Cairns, Queensland, where she lives and works. She is a multicultural artist and a descendant of the Meriam Mer people of the Torres Strait.

Grace creates unique body adornments and wearable art pieces that are inspired by her indigenous heritage. Her body sculptures often incorporate the 'Grasshopper weaving' technique taught to her by mentor and Torres Strait Elder, Uncle Ken Thaiday.

Grace is one of Australia’s leading Indigenous artists and fashion designers. In 2013, she founded the nationally recognised Cairns Indigenous Art Fair Fashion Performance. She has also presented Indigenous fashion performances in Papua New Guinea, Melbourne, Adelaide, Darwin and at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

Grace has exhibited extensively in Australia and overseas and her work is represented in major collections, including the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney; Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; and Cairns Art Gallery, Queensland.

Solo Exhibition | Highlighted Works

Grace Lillian Lee: Body Sculptures
24 Jun – 4 Sep 2016

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Greg Semu, Grace Lillian Lee: Body Sculpture – Acceptance 2016, digital image (altered state), Photograph courtesy Greg Semu and Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne Greg Semu, Grace Lillian Lee: Body Sculpture – Enlightenment 2016, digital image (altered state), Photograph courtesy Greg Semu and Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne Greg Semu, Grace Lillian Lee: Body Sculpture – Empowerment 2016, digital image (altered state), Photograph courtesy Greg Semu and Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne Grace Lillian Lee: Body Sculpture install, Cairns Art Gallery 2016

 

Group Exhibitions | Highlighted Works

 

RITUAL: the past in the present
15 May – 22 Aug 2021

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Grace Lillian Lee, Future Floral Woven Forms 2020, canvas, cotton webbing, cane, feathers, coconut palm frond, Courtesy of the artist and studio assistant Monique Burkhead Grace Lillian Lee, Future Floral Woven Forms 2020, canvas, cotton webbing, cane, feathers, coconut palm frond, Courtesy of the artist and studio assistant Monique Burkhead Grace Lillian Lee, Future Floral Woven Forms 2020, canvas, cotton webbing, cane, feathers, coconut palm frond, Courtesy of the artist and studio assistant Monique Burkhead Grace Lillian Lee, Future Floral Woven Forms 2020, canvas, cotton webbing, cane, feathers, coconut palm frond, Courtesy of the artist and studio assistant Monique Burkhead Grace Lillian Lee, Future Floral Woven Forms install, Cairns Art Gallery 2020. Photography: Michael Marzik


Reimagining: 
between tradition and innovation 

17 Oct 2020 – 10 Jan 2021

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Grace Lillian Lee, Red: Acceptance, 2016, cotton webbing, goose feathers, beads, timber cane, cotton and wool thread, Commissioned by Cairns Regional Gallery with the assistance of Friends of the Gallery, 2016 Grace Lillian Lee, White: Enlightenment, 2016, cotton webbing, timber cane, cotton and wool thread, Commissioned by Cairns Regional Gallery with the assistance of Friends of the Gallery, 2016 Grace Lillian Lee, Black: Infinity, 2016, cotton webbing, timber cane, cotton and wool thread, Commissioned by Cairns Regional Gallery with the assistance of Friends of the Gallery, 2016

 

ARTNOW 2019
13 Dec 2019 – 2 Feb 2020

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Grace Lillian Lee, Untitled 2019, cotton webbing, assorted beads, shells, plastic, glass, water based ink on cotton, Courtesy of the artist

 

 


ARTNOW 2017

1 Dec 2017 – 18 Feb 2018

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Grace Lillian Lee, A Weave Through Time, 2017, mixed media, Purchased by Cairns Art Gallery, 2018

 

 

 

Collection Works

 

Resources | Publications

 

The Cairns Art Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work and live. We pay our respects to Elders past and present. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, names or voices of deceased persons in photographs, film or text.