Solo exhibition
9 May – 2 August 2026
Exhibition opening: Friday 8 May, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre
1 Finnerty St, Fremantle WA 6160 AU
Open: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, daily.

As part of the Djeran exhibition season, alongside:
Pasar Malam | Night Market and Leyla Stevens: GROH GOH (Rehearsal for Rangda).

Ida Lawrence, A Bigger Misha (detail) 2020-2025, acrylic, cut-outs and collage on 200gsm Fabriano acid free paper, 245 cm x 290 cm; timber installation, 245 cm x 350 cm x 490 cm. Photo: Frank Freitag.

Installation views. Photo: Ezra Alcantra.

Last weekend I did my best impression of a ‘normal person’ when I met Owen’s parents for the first time, at their home in Canberra. On the wall of the bedroom which Owen still refers to as his room and Owen’s mother refers to as the spare room hangs a painstakingly painted portrait of one of the family’s dogs. The life-size canine sits obediently, looking into the eye of the viewer. Placid, content, not a hair out of place on its shiny coat, meticulously combed by a steady hand. Quite without personality, really. The portrait was painted two years ago by Owen’s previous girlfriend and gifted to his parents who lovingly framed it.

This here is a bigger painting of the family’s other dog, the family’s favourite dog, Misha. Misha can catch any airborne object on the full in a triple-lutz-triple-toe-turn. She can dig the widest and the deepest hole in the veggie patch, on demand and not on demand. She can slam the back door behind her after a wee outside, at any hour of day or night. I honour Misha in this painting, measuring exactly the dimensions of the family’s living room feature wall, and it shall be gifted to Owen’s parents next time I am in Canberra.

Detail. Photo: Frank Freitag.

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Review:

Darren Jorgensen, ‘Indonesian Vibes: Three Exhibitions in Fremantle’, online review, Artlink, 16 June 2026

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Credits:

Timber structure fabrication: Tom Freeman and the WFAC install team.

Huge thanks to the Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre team, especially those I’ve emailed or those whose faces I’ve video called: Abigail Moncrieff, Pete Volich, Tom Freeman, Amy Miller, Shannon Lyons, Ella Boekeman.

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