For our latest Portraits series, we sit in conversation with Australian artist Clementine Maconachie – an observer of form, balance, and the in-between. Her work moves through intuition and design, capturing the quiet conversation between pause and motion.

Through this exchange, we explore how Clementine’s practice mirrors the spirit of Bianca Spender. There is a shared pursuit of movement, emotion, and clarity. We speak on the tension between structure and fluidity, the meditative rhythm of making, and how art can become a reflection of self.

Scroll on to step inside Clementine’s world – where gesture meets stillness, and creation becomes a form of contemplation.

CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF?

“I am an artist based in Paddington, Sydney. I have been making art and furniture here and there as a self-employed artist as a creative for the last 10 years or so. I grew up in Albury with my Artist mother and Doctor/Sportsman extraordinaire father. I fell in love with the water and spent my teenage years swimming and travelling the world with that. Life is full. I have 3 wonderful, amazing kids and a husband I am so happy to do life with. Formula 1 is my obsession or area of special interest and I have followed it religiously for almost 20 years.”

YOUR WORK OFTEN SEEMS TO EXIST BETWEEN STILLNESS AND MOVEMENT. HOW DO YOU NAVIGATE THAT BALANCE WHEN YOU’RE CREATING? IS IT SOMETHING YOU CONSCIOUSLY CHASE, OR DOES IT UNFOLD INTUITIVELY?

“That's a beautiful way of putting it. Yes, I think it does. For me it's always the juxtaposition of stillness and movement, capturing a movement in a solid state, making something heavy look like its light and floating, making something hard and cold feel soft and organic.”

THERE’S A MEDITATIVE QUALITY TO YOUR PRACTICE THAT IS ALMOST RITUALISTIC. WHAT DOES YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS LOOK LIKE FROM THE INSIDE?

“My creative process is quite meditative – definitely the folding of the metal and carving the hebel. It's just like swimming in the way of getting into a flow state making and creating and being aware but also lost in the process.

I am in the studio 5 days a week when I am there. I believe in showing up and putting in the time. I find the more you are consistent – the more you show up and let’s face it play, because I know how lucky I am that I get to do this as a career – the better it works out.

I made art for quite a while before I put it out these, as i think it's important for an artist to find their own thing. Their own voice.”

YOUR WORK FEELS DEEPLY PERSONAL YET OPEN TO INTERPRETATION. IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU SEE YOUR ART AS A REFLECTION – OF SELF, OF MEMORY, OR OF EMOTION?

“My work is reflective and personal, however, I don’t think I'm always consciously aware of that. For me I think it’s more of a feeling or a need to create something particular and then when I reflect about why it seems so obvious what it's about. However, I don’t like to attach too many words or prescribe meaning to explain a piece. I like for people to see it and have their own response to it.”

MATERIAL AND EMOTION FEEL INTERTWINED IN YOUR WORK. HOW DO THE PHYSICAL QUALITIES OF YOUR CHOSEN MEDIUM INFLUENCE THE FEELING OR STORY YOU’RE TRYING TO EXPRESS?

“Material and emotion are intertwined in the sense that the material is formed with the emotion in mind. I think the materials often inspire the emotion that I am expressing. It's quite full circle.”

DOES YOUR CRAFT INFORM HOW YOU EXPRESS YOURSELF THROUGH CLOTHING? ARE THERE PARALLELS BETWEEN YOUR ARTISTIC PROCESS AND THE WAY YOU ASSEMBLE WHAT YOU WEAR?

“I am definitely drawn to minimal clean lines, sculptural silhouettes and then I do love to add in something eclectic or unusual here and there from time to time.”

MUCH LIKE YOUR OWN CRAFT, BIANCA SPENDER’S RESORT 26 COLLECTION EXPLORES SCULPTURAL FORMS AND FLUID DRAPE. WHICH PIECES SPOKE TO YOU MOST, AND HOW DO THEY RESONATE WITH YOUR OWN SENSE OF MOVEMENT OR FORM?

“There are so many pieces I love in this collection and there were multiple pieces that would live happily in my wardrobe for years to come. I love the fluid draping of the Chocolate Silk Roma Gown and how it almost looks like liquid. The Blue Liquid Organza reminds me of the delicateness of the surface of water. The colour and the drape is just so soft and beautiful.

I love the sharp sculptural lines of the Pink Plunge Tank and the structure and clean lines in all of the suiting this season. The Black skirt I wore for this shoot was also a favourite. I loved how it moved and how it draped so beautifully when standing still.”