Tweed artist’s tapestries of time

A LINDISFARNE Anglican Grammar School student has had her Higher School Certificate artwork selected for ARTEXPRESS 2025, the Art Gallery

of NSW’s annual showcase of outstanding visual arts works.

Daisy Grace Burke’s piece, Tapestries of Time, is on display at the gallery from February 6 to April 27.

Burke said she was incredibly proud to be part of the exhibition.

“It was such an unexpected but rewarding achievement, and I feel so grateful,” Burke said.

“The opening night was an unforgettable experience, and having my work as the opening piece at the gallery was an incredible honour.

Burke said her work explores memory as a fragile thread woven through time and place, connecting people to their past and shaping their identities.

 

“In my body of work, the media convey this construct of memory.

“Each stitch is a tactile, labour-intensive process that communicates the transient nature of memory.

“I intend that the cityscapes and buildings transcend their physicality, so the work becomes a vessel for nostalgia and emotion and for the audience to reflect on the impermanence of memory and its power to anchor us to places and moments that define us,” she said.

ARTEXPRESS 2025 features 50 works selected from 8,858 submissions across NSW schools, showcasing themes such as identity, social issues, and the high school experience.

Many former exhibitors have gone on to successful careers, including Ben Quilty (1991), Jasper Knight (1997), Julie Fragar (1995), and Louise Zhang (2009).

 

Burke said she had always been drawn to traditional art-making processes.

“I chose free-motion embroidery as a direct link to my concept,” she said.

“The fluidity and unpredictability of free-motion embroidery mirror how memories shift and evolve, allowing for a tactile, layered representation of personal and collective history.

“I experimented with cyanotype canvas prints for their dreamlike quality, evoking the faded nature of recollection and nostalgia.

“Together, they create a link between permanence and impermanence.”

Burke is taking a gap year to travel before beginning a double degree in fashion and business at university.