Dan Palfreman

Growing up in Eltham at the edge of the Yarra Valley, I’ve always been drawn to the boundary where the bush and the built-up human world collide. That stark comparison of nature and human life from my childhood is what inspires the pieces I create. Through making, I try to bring together natural forms and mechanical construction; using oxidised metal, rivets, and movement to explore how the two worlds can connect. I like finding a balance between softness and structure, and between things that grow naturally and things that are built and engineered by hand. My work reflects the landscape I come from and the way I’ve learned to make things through careful, practical processes that show how we shape the natural world we live in, for better or for worse.