I reject the doctrine of Terra nullius—the Latin term meaning “land belonging to no one”—which the British used to justify colonising Australia by denying Indigenous peoples’ ownership and governance of the land.
In this reconstructed landscape of Kauwiyarlungga/Second Valley’s recognisable headland, I introduce unfamiliar forms that appear almost alien. These objects, like totems or cultural artefacts, hint at human presence and prompt reflection on how we understand and connect with the land.
At the same time, my work carries a genuine sense of awe for the natural world—familiar, beautiful and wondrous.
Sophie Hann is a self taught Australian artist although she studied for one semester at the New York Studio School in NYC on a scholarship. Hann received a Bachelor of Art in History and Visual Art from Flinders University.
With a career spanning two decades, Sophie Hann has been a finalist in many major prizes across Australia including the Heysen Prize for Landscape, the Lester Prize, the Portia Geach Memorial Award, Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, Brett Whitely Scholarship, Shirley Hannah National Portrait Award, Wollongong Art Prize, Kennedy Prize, Calleen Art Award, John Fries Memorial Prize, the King’s School Art Prize, the Lloyd Rees Prize among others. Hann has received several grants and residencies including the Nancy Fairfax Artist Residency and the BigCi residency.
Hann is interested in human ecology – the relationship between humans and their environment and environmental ethics, which explores the moral relationship between humans and the natural world, including our responsibilities towards the environment and its resources. Animals, people and natural world features strongly in her work.
