Lori spent her early childhood on her family’s farm at Yilliminning in the wheatbelt of Western Australia, and her early adult life jillarooing on the cattle station of her husband’s family, Wyloo, in the Pilbara, Western Australia. She now farms with her husband on their sustainable agricultural farming property in the south west of Western Australia, Boyup Brook, where her studio is located.
Lori is a nationally recognised artist, having held 30 solo exhibitions, hung in 50 group shows and shortlisted for over 120 awards. Notably she won the Collie Art Prize 2025; Portia Geach Memorial Portraiture Prize 2024; Kilgour Art Prize, Newcastle Art Gallery 2021; Royal Show Landscape award 2022; Toni Fini Black Swan Portraiture 2018; The Jury Prize 2022 and winner of the Hamersley Iron Landscape awards 4 years running from 1998 – 2001. She has been a finalist in – Dobell Drawing Prize 2023; Salon De Refuse 2022, 2024; Portia Geach Memorial Award 2019-2024; The Alice Prize 2022; Len Fox Award 2000, 2022, 2024.
“My art practice is an exploration of myself, my identity and placement within my family’s multifaceted history. It is illustrated directly from lived experiences on country and my responses to, and relationship with our landscape. Matrilineal memories within my shared European and indigenous histories in the Australian landscape, engages commentary around the simultaneously constructive and destructive relationship between wo(man) and land.
The botanical elements in my work are used as a reflection of personal transformations. I link key positive personality traits of people with ecological characteristics of botanicals to create a distinctive ‘language of flowers’ as a way of dually expressing inner strengths/virtues. They also seek to create a narrative around our cultural identity and role within our natural world.”LP
In recent workings Lori has extended Nature-Culture concepts to include installations of found flora, fauna and composite earthen raw materials. Repurposing natural forms found on her farm bushland aids in creating contemporary depth to the painted themes. Regenerating storylines using natural resources seeks to examine the concept of placement. Dually, self placement within family culture, ‘who am I? who has shaped me?’ and the environmental imprinting influencing ones bearing and identity.