Marion Harper’s paintings seek to address, dissolve and reform ideas about embodiment. Her compositions depict interactions between body parts, both human and nonhuman, in the negotiation of sharing space, exposing the everchanging essence of what it means to be a human. Soft limbs and languid poses poke through and slump against carboard boxes. Harper’s figures protrude from impossibly small spaces, raising questions about resilience, and the ability to adapt to circumstance. The human flesh conforms and gives way to the geometries of the environment, which Harper composes like a staged set. These constructed modular environment provide a duality of child-like playfulness and physical obstruction within the picture plane.

Painting for more than 20 years, Harper’s practice began as a detailed investigation into abstraction, but now extends to video, installation, ceramic and photo-based media. She completed her MFA (Research) at the Victorian College of the Arts in 2024 and holds a BFA in painting (VCA). Her works are held in the QUT Collection, the Latrobe University Collection, and in private collections.