Charm Offensive, 2024

This work is about seeking comfort in the natural world and finding a curious resonance with the darker aspects of nature. It’s about developing the skill to see through other’s shiny exterior and trusting the need to create self-protection and calm. It explores the safety of withdrawing into an interior world when the exterior environment feels chaotic and demanding.

Bella Insch is an emerging visual artist with a developing studio-based practice. Bella grew up on Yuin Country and currently lives and works in Naarm (Melbourne). She holds a Graduate Diploma and Master of Art Therapy as well as a bachelor’s degree in visual arts (Majoring in sculpture and drawing). Bella is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Her work explores the complexity of interpersonal intimacies, religious iconography and personal narratives of loss and belonging. As well as Mechanic’s Warehouse in Pambula, Bella has exhibited at Precinct Gallery in Berry, Belconnen Arts Centre, Crackpot Studios and Gallery in Sydney and Brunswick Street Gallery in Melbourne. She has shown at the Motel Art Fair in Bermagui, Mechanics’ Botanics, The Canberra Potter’s Society, Spiral Gallery, and the Thursday Plantation Sculpture Show. Bella has worked as an artist’s assistant and has participated in artists-in-residence programs at Belconnen Arts Centre and Milton. Bella can be found at InkandBrush on Instagram.