This work demands more than painting.

Each piece in this exhibition represents months of archaeological excavation—not into physical sites, but into the cultural architecture of mid-century Hollywood, its visual intelligence, its constructed mythologies, and the systems that created both beauty and exploitation.

Close-up of vintage pearl and coral beaded jewelry with a floral clasp on black fabric

STAGE ONE

Research and artefacts

I collect authentic artifacts—vintage clothing, accessories, ephemera—not as props but as historical documents. Each piece of 1950s satin, each period shoe, each authentic detail teaches me something about how beauty was manufactured, how light interacted with specific fabrics, how women moved through spaces designed to display them.

Studio collection · vintage costume, accessories and ephemera

The objects, drawn

Elegant bedroom with a dark wood canopy bed, white linens, patterned curtains, bedside lamps, and a large wall mirror

STAGE TWO

The rooms

For more than a decade I have made these photographs in places that carry their own history: a heritage Woolstore apartment, a soundstage, and most recently Brisbane’s Inchcolm Hotel, built in 1930 as Neo-Georgian medical consulting rooms and converted decades later. Each offered something beyond mere location: spaces that held the memory of transformation itself.

Location sessions · Brisbane and the Gold Coast, 2015–2026

Person in white clown makeup and curly wig seated in an armchair, holding a phone in a dim blue-lit room

STAGE THREE

Rebuilding the light

Working from studio system principles, we physically constructed the lighting recipes of the studio-era masters. Positioning Fresnels and scrims according to historical documentation, watching how those setups actually behaved in real space with a real body and authentic period costume, I was not collecting images to copy. I was acquiring lived knowledge.

Lighting reconstruction · Fresnels, scrims and period styling (photo credit Evie Derksen)

The crew are the alchemists; she is the gold.

These photographs have been made over more than a decade with a small, returning crew. Hair and make-up by Christina Butler of Diamond Diversity. Assisting and editing by Evie Derksen. Modelling by Heather Gurner, Sylph Sia, Annaliese McGuire and Anoush Anou. Models are engaged professionally, credited by name and with their agreement.

Hair stylist arranging a blonde client's hair during a salon styling session
Makeup artist applying eyeliner to a red-haired woman with pinned-up hair
Tattooed woman in a white shirt sitting in a makeup room, reflected in a mirror surrounded by vanity lights and cosmetics.
Black-and-white photo of a woman singing or speaking in profile beside a microphone and illuminated studio lights.
Close-up of a person wearing a white beaded necklace, mesh top, and decorative harness straps.
Close-up of silver beaded jewelry arranged on dark textured fabric
Close-up of an ornate vintage brooch featuring faceted dark gemstones and metallic embellishments on black fabric
Gloved hands holding an open antique gold pocket watch
Black-and-white portrait of a woman in a satin dress holding a statuette against a dark background
Black-and-white restaurant scene with a person’s hand beside a coupe glass, tableware, and a blurred diner in the background
Black-and-white portrait of a glamorous woman in a white suit and polka-dot tie smoking in a dimly lit room beside a glowing lamp and silver tea set.
Close-up of a woman in a teal dress and ornate jewelry under dramatic blue and purple lighting
Artist sketching a glamorous vintage woman with wavy hair and dangling earrings using a blue pencil.
Artist wearing glasses draws a detailed graphite portrait of a nude woman with a white pencil.
Artist’s hand shading a vintage-style pencil drawing of an elegant woman looking over her bare shoulder.