Not only was she hung in the Sulman Prize this year, but she recently won  a Highly Commended in the Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize in Adelaide for her work, “Gould’s Australian Chintz II”.

Dickson has a new exhibition at M16 Artspace that, she recently told “CityNews”,  is divided into two parts: “Birds from a New World”, already shown at Bega Regional Gallery and the Western Plains Cultural Centre; and the “Patterns of Empire” series hung in the Sulman exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW.

She explains: “Since childhood birds and animals have fascinated me.”

In the first part, she attempts to convey the wonder and fascination felt by these early European settlers in response to the “novel bird life” they encountered.

In the second, she focuses on factors such as imperialism, ornamentation and the rise of the natural sciences that influenced notions of British national identity during the early years of white settlement in Australia.

“In my paintings,” she says, “I imaginatively engage with historical imagery to refer to the cultural origins and evolutions of my perceptions of Australian birds and animals.”

“Frames of Reference”, Nicola Dickson at M16 Artspace, 21 Blaxland Crescent, Griffith, August 1-18, Wednesday – Sunday, noon-5pm or by appointment.