William Versace

William Versace’s scagliola tablets merge natural and artificial materials, incorporating pigments derived from sea life and ochres alongside seaweed-cast pewter forms. Made through a hand-sifting process rooted in his Calabrian heritage, the works resemble geological cross-sections – layered strata that hold traces of time and environment. Many pieces are created in collaboration with natural forces such as sea snails, rain, and salt, reflecting Versace’s ongoing interest in relinquishing control to place and process.

Of this work, he says: "This work comes from one of my favourite places in Kangaroo Valley, where lichen grows over the rocks in layers and layers. I collected some of that lichen and made it into pigment, building those colours and textures back up across the surface of the work. The pewter frame grows around it like the vines that run through the landscape."

Grounded in painting, sculpture, and installation, Versace’s transdisciplinary practice engages deeply with material technologies, botany, and environmental processes. Working on-site with local ecologies, he allows natural elements to erode, form, or imprint his surfaces, prompting reflections on human impact, the dialogue between people and place, and speculations of what our future artefacts will look like.