Michael Reid Clay is proud to present Michelle Perrett’s  D æ g e s e a g e, the debut ceramics exhibition at Michael Reid Southern Highlands. 

D æ g e s e a g e is a series of clay botanical sculptures made during Perrett’s 2022 artist residency at BigCi in the Blue Mountains. Waratah, Pagoda Rock Daisy and Mountain Devil flowers were studied from life, but remembering aspects of the flower without direct reference was important for the object’s creation. 

Perrett’s work is painstaking, and she relishes in recreating the finest details of her chosen flowers. Each piece involves shaping and attaching petals, creating moulds and extruding clay to make patterns and filaments. Perrett will press Grevillea and Waratah leaves directly onto wet clay, elevating the botanical likeness. “The embossed markings imply vulnerability, as many native flowers now only exist naturally in National Parks” she writes.

Michelle Perrett has exhibited work as a finalist in several key art prizes, including ‘Enclosed Garden’ in the North Sydney Art Prize 2019, Little Things Art Prize 2020 and Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize 2021. Perrett received the Northern Beaches Council Residency Award at Eramboo 2018 and was an Open Winner in the Northern Beaches Art Prize – ‘Postcards from Home’ 2020. 

Perrett holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Masters of Fine Art from the UNSW, College of Fine Arts (COFA) and an Advanced Diploma in Ceramics, Northern Beaches TAFE.