GUARDIANS
Illustrating the generative nature of grassroots interconnections, ONF paired MTR with artist Melissa J Harvey, providing the artist with the opportunity to realise a long-dreamt-of project. Guardians extends Harvey’s experimental paper practice into the realm of public art, enduring both extreme heat and torrential rain in the process.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Guardians is inspired by a recurring dream I have of tall dark figures. They have a grand presence, where each guardian has its own personality and part to play. The medium sprayed to make the ephemeral installation is recycled cotton clothing, torn, cut, and beaten down through a milling process to make a fine pulp. I am creatively inspired by the textural elements in my lived environment. Textures of hard mottled concrete, brick and bitumen surfaces with sprayed paint by graffiti artists, council and construction workers hold my attention.
BIO
Melissa Jean Harvey is a contemporary artist and conservation technician born in rural Australia, NSW in 1974, now residing in Sydney, Australia on Gadigal land. MJ has a Bachelor of Visual Arts, Printmaking (Southern Cross University) and Master of Visual Arts (Sydney College of Arts) 2017. MJ’s art practice is inspired by place and the textural surroundings of their immediate environment. The medium MJ predominantly uses is recycled cotton clothing and domestic cloth donated from her local area.
MJ’s career highlights are delivering her thesis, Pulping Spaces at Impact 10 Printmaking Symposium in Salamander, Spain, later published in Imprint Magazine, Australia. She was a guest artist at Queensland College of Art and Designs, Griffith University and an artist in residency at Morgan Conservatory, Cleveland, USA in 2024, where she further developed her technique in pulp printing and spraying. MJ has been a practicing artist for the last 25 years and is continuously learning new processes and experimenting. In 2025, MJ is a finalist in the Burnie Print prize in Tasmania and selected to show at Print Council of Australia Gallery in Melbourne.
Melissa Jean Harvey is a contemporary artist and conservation technician born in rural Australia, NSW in 1974, now residing in Sydney, Australia on Gadigal land. MJ has a Bachelor of Visual Arts, Printmaking (Southern Cross University) and Master of Visual Arts (Sydney College of Arts) 2017. MJ’s art practice is inspired by place and the textural surroundings of their immediate environment. The medium MJ predominantly uses is recycled cotton clothing and domestic cloth donated from her local area.
MJ’s career highlights are delivering her thesis, Pulping Spaces at Impact 10 Printmaking Symposium in Salamander, Spain, later published in Imprint Magazine, Australia. She was a guest artist at Queensland College of Art and Designs, Griffith University and an artist in residency at Morgan Conservatory, Cleveland, USA in 2024, where she further developed her technique in pulp printing and spraying. MJ has been a practicing artist for the last 25 years and is continuously learning new processes and experimenting. In 2025, MJ is a finalist in the Burnie Print prize in Tasmania and selected to show at Print Council of Australia Gallery in Melbourne.
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