HUMAN explores my work from the past 3 years. From portraits of people I love and admire, to self portraits that explore conflict and personal agency.
This exhibition opens on Friday the 9th of October at 5pm.
Melesina Fonua & Jake Brand will be playing a set at the opening. I will also speak briefly at around 6pm.
This exhibition takes place alongside Bendigo Open Studios so it’s a great weekend to come to Bendigo and soak up lots of art 🥰
RECLAIMING AGENCY, a panel discussion will coincide with this exhibition. Lauren Ellis, Gayle Wilson and I will discuss the importance of telling women’s stories within the Arts. Melesina Fonua will MC our discussion and no doubt bring some laughter to what will be an important conversation.
Both the opening event and the panel discussion are free events, however, numbers will be limited to 50ppl for the panel discussion, so it is important to book your spot using this link: https://events.humanitix.com/reclaiming-agency-stories-of-women-in-the-arts
This will also ensure that everyone is provided with a seat.
Bress Wines will also be at both events providing my favourite refreshments 🥂
The exhibition is also open daily 10am to 4pm from the 10th till the 18th of October.
I hope you can come along xx
Solomon Kammer: never enough, oil on canvas, 152.5 x 101.3 cm
Archibald Prize 2023 finalist
Alanah Brand’s portrait subject, artist Solomon Kammer, was a finalist in the Archibald Prize 2022. Although she lives with five diagnosed conditions, Kammer is often told she is ‘not disabled enough’ to be acknowledged as a person with disability. Despite this, she continues to create art and advocate for people living with disability, while experiencing chronic pain.
‘Solomon’s tenacity in the face of adversity makes her the perfect subject for the Archibald Prize,’ says Brand, a first-time finalist, who lives in Bendigo, Victoria.
Admiring her subject’s authenticity, resilience and artistic style, Brand believes that Kammer ‘shows the world what it’s like to live with illness, disability and trauma’. Brand says, ‘In the process, she has broken down the history of disabled and gender minorities represented across art institutions, exposing the prejudices, challenges and abuses faced by many.
‘In this portrait, I have used a plinth to show how Solomon has become a symbol of hope for many, including myself. Solomon is my mentor, and I would like to see her recognised for her progressive, significant contribution to the arts.’
$4000
Please note that the price is AUD and does not include shipping, artwork to be collected on the last day of the exhibition Sunday the 18th of October between 10am and 4pm unless an alternative has been arranged with the artist.
Coercive Control, 2025, oil on aluminium panel, 50x40cm (65x55cm with frame)
Highly Commended Lethbridge Small Scale Art Award 2026
This self-portrait confronts the insidious nature of coercive control; a form of abuse that erodes dignity, autonomy and self-respect.
$1000
Please note that the price is AUD and does not include shipping, artwork to be collected on the last day of the exhibition Sunday the 18th of October between 10am and 4pm unless an alternative has been arranged with the artist.
Resisting the Patriarchy, 2025, oil on aluminium panel, 50x40cm (65x55cm with frame)
Finalist Lethbridge Small Scale Art Award 2025
Resisting the Patriarchy is a self-portrait that captures Brand defying the grasp of the past—hands that seek to hold her back, harm her, and mould her into something she refuses to become. Through this work, Brand confronts the lingering weight of patriarchal systems, painting both their violence and their persistence. She believes that only by naming and exposing these structures and how they manifest in our everyday lives, can we begin the urgent work of dismantling them.
$800
Please note that the price is AUD and does not include shipping, artwork to be collected on the last day of the exhibition Sunday the 18th of October between 10am and 4pm unless an alternative has been arranged with the artist.
Controlled, 2026, oil on aluminium panel, 30x40cm
This self-portrait examines the quiet, cumulative violence of coercive control: a form of abuse that operates through psychological manipulation. Rather than depicting a single event, the work holds the weight of a prolonged experience and the slow erosion of personal agency. By meeting the viewer’s gaze, the subject asserts presence and selfhood in opposition to the silencing mechanisms of abuse. Painting this work reclaims authorship over a narrative once shaped by another and affirms that safety, dignity, and mutual respect are essential foundations of any relationship.
$1000
Please note that the price is AUD and does not include shipping, artwork to be collected on the last day of the exhibition Sunday the 18th of October between 10am and 4pm unless an alternative has been arranged with the artist.
Jemima, 2026, oil on aluminium panel, 30x40cm
Jemima Lotika is Congolese from DRC who grew up in South Africa. She studied both an MPH and an MBA and is passionate about infectious diseases and public health.
Jemima is a co-founder of Public Health en Afrique, an organisation that partners with African-based groups to improve access to quality, safe, and affordable healthcare for all Africans, one project at a time.
Jemima currently works as a Public Health Officer in Bendigo, where she met fellow artist Alanah Ellen Brand. Outside of her professional work, Jemima enjoys sport, gardening, and creating pen portraits, which she has recently begun exhibiting in Bendigo.
$1000
Please note that the price is AUD and does not include shipping, artwork to be collected on the last day of the exhibition Sunday the 18th of October between 10am and 4pm unless an alternative has been arranged with the artist.
Sitting with Tsering, 2025, oil on canvas, 100x100cm
Finalist 13th Prospect Prize Finalist
Brand’s portrait subject is the acclaimed Australian artist Tsering Hannaford. Brand incorporates two of Hannaford's self-portraits into her composition; her Self-Portrait (2018) and Objet démodé (2015), in which Hannaford portrays herself as a sculptural bust. This work comments on the objectification of women and the entrenched beauty standards prevalent in contemporary culture. Both self-portraits are deeply influenced by contemporary feminism, a theme that resonates in the works of both Hannaford and Brand, alongside their shared passion for oil painting and portraiture.
Hannaford creates self-portraits during times of personal reflection and works directly from life. Brand chose to incorporate these self-portraits into her own depiction of Hannaford to communicate the multiple layers of the artist’s identity, her creative process, and the profound meanings embedded across her works.
In Brand’s painting, Hannaford’s self-portrait Objet démodé is transformed into a sculpture placed on a plinth beside the artist, who holds a viewfinder—an instrument she uses when painting from life. In Brand's composition, all three faces of Hannaford, each viewed from a different angle, engage the viewer, prompting them to consider who is truly being observed. The evolving role of the artist, who observes both the subject and the environment, is brought into question.
$1500
Please note that the price is AUD and does not include shipping, artwork to be collected on the last day of the exhibition Sunday the 18th of October between 10am and 4pm unless an alternative has been arranged with the artist.
Lauren Starr; reclaiming our stories, 2023, Oil on canvas, 125x150cm
Displayed at the Women Painting Women Exhibition at Burrinja in 2025
Alanah Ellen Brand’s portrait subject is artist Lauren Starr the overall winner of the 2022 Bluethumb Art Prize; Australia’s richest art prize. In 2023 Starr spoke about her feelings of unworthiness in a Ted Ex talk when referencing winning the prize. Starr also spoke about her story and struggles of claiming the title ‘Artist’. Starr is a photographer currently creating a series of work about the forgotten stories of Australian women. Starr’s work is heavily influenced by literature and history conveyed through the array of objects placed alongside Starr in this portrait.
This portrait began in Brand’s garage where she asked Starr to bring in items that were important to her for their sitting. The final painting features many of the items Starr uses across her photography practice arranged in a similar style to Starr’s own imagery. Brand wanted this portrait to present Starr as an artist who is resilient and unwavering in her attempts to present a side of history that was rarely documented or spoken about. Brand also wants to present Starr as resilient in her attempts to show others that they can choose who they want to be and reclaim their own stories.
Starr and Brand are both practicing artists living in regional Victoria (Bendigo). Both work as teachers to support their art careers and both have felt the need to justify their art practice and the title of ‘artist’. They believe the life of a regional female artist is often lined with self-doubt, however, they also think that the more society talks about our stories, the more art that is made about it, the more they realise that they’re allowed to take up space.
$1500
Please note that the price is AUD and does not include shipping, artwork to be collected on the last day of the exhibition Sunday the 18th of October between 10am and 4pm unless an alternative has been arranged with the artist.
Poker Face, 2023, oil on canvas, 152x142cm
Finalist Bluethumb Art Prize 2023
Poker Face is an appropriation of Lady Gaga’s hit song ‘Poker Face’ and Kenny Rodger’s hit song ‘The Gambler’. Poker Face is a portrait of Brand’s close friends Sina and Courtney, who are seated together on the ground playing Poker. One figure appears immersed in the game whilst the other stares passively out at the viewer. Poker Face is intended to portray the unknown “gamble” of life, whilst also exploring the interval space Brand and others often find themselves in at different moments in life; the space between the past and what the future may or may not hold.
$1200
Please note that the price is AUD and does not include shipping, artwork to be collected on the last day of the exhibition Sunday the 18th of October between 10am and 4pm unless an alternative has been arranged with the artist.
Rare, 2024, oil on canvas, 100x100cm
Displayed at the Women Painting Women Exhibition at Burrinja in 2025
‘Rare’ is a portrait of Kerry Corevski. Corevski was diagnosed with FA (Friedreich ataxia) when she was 15 years of age. FA is a rare inherited genetic disease that causes progressive damage to one’s nervous system. FA is one of many diseases that does not always receive recognition because it is considered ‘rare’. Brand and Corevski hope this painting spreads awareness for this disease which affects 1 in 30,000 people, and they hope it sheds light on the difficulties teenagers face who receive a diagnosis like this.
Brand also hopes this painting communicates how brave and courageous Corevski is. Brand watched Corevski receive this diagnosis with grace alongside her high school studies. Brand hopes this painting sheds light on the difficulties teenagers face who receive a diagnosis like this. Corevski created a performance piece to help spread awareness for this disease. Corevski is a keen actor and has used her skills to educate, and communicate her story, through this performance piece, which was performed in her home town, Bendigo, in 2023.
Recently, a treatment for FA has been approved in the United states. On the 28 Feb 2023 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first drug ever used to treat FA. The drug showed a positive result in slowing the progression of FA and the approval represents a milestone for developing a therapy for a disease that does not always receive recognition because Friedreich’s ataxia is considered ‘rare’. Approximately 500 Australians currently live with this disease. Brand and Corevski hope this painting encourages the Australian government to approve this new treatment and place it on the PBS so it can be available to people like Corevski here in Australia.
SOLD
Self-portrait; Thinking about Palestine, 2024, Oil on canvas,152 x 101cm
Displayed at the Women Painting Women Exhibition at Burrinja in 2025
This self-portrait is Brand’s response to the conflict currently happening in Palestine. Brand states “With social media feeds and news outlets full of images and videos of the atrocity happening in Gaza, as an artist I feel a need to respond to this, to try to help in my own way. With the death count over 40,000 people, there is an immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza. The world needs to come together to offer humanitarian aid and support as survivors are starving and need medical treatment”.
$1200
Please note that the price is AUD and does not include shipping, artwork to be collected on the last day of the exhibition Sunday the 18th of October between 10am and 4pm unless an alternative has been arranged with the artist.
Melesina, 2026, Oil on ACM panel, 30 × 40cm
Melesina is a playful portrait of one of my closest friends, capturing her cheeky personality and infectious sense of fun. With her tongue out and expression full of mischief, the gestural brushwork reflects the energy and spontaneity of her character. This painting is a celebration of friendship, personality and the joy of simply being yourself.
$1000
Please note that the price is AUD and does not include shipping, artwork to be collected on the last day of the exhibition Sunday the 18th of October between 10am and 4pm unless an alternative has been arranged with the artist.
Me Too, 2026, Oil on ACM panel, 30 × 40cm
This self-portrait explores my own experiences of sexual assault and harassment. While these experiences are deeply personal, they are not isolated. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2023), 1 in 5 women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15.
The title Me Too speaks to both the personal and collective nature of these experiences. It is an acknowledgement that behind the statistics are individual women, each carrying their own stories, and a quiet assertion that these stories deserve to be heard.
$2000
Please note that the price is AUD and does not include shipping, artwork to be collected on the last day of the exhibition Sunday the 18th of October between 10am and 4pm unless an alternative has been arranged with the artist.
Get your hands off me, 2026, Oil on ACM panel, 30 × 40cm
This self-portrait responds to my own experiences of strangulation and to the growing prevalence of strangulation during sex. A 2024 study by researchers from the University of Queensland and Melbourne Law School, published in Archives of Sexual Behaviour, found that 57% of young Australians aged 18–35 had experienced strangulation, or “choking”, during sex at least once.
The urgency of this issue was brought into sharp focus by the recent death of a 16-year-old girl who was found unresponsive at a home in Sydney. NSW Police are investigating her death in connection with an alleged sexual strangulation act.
Strangulation during sex is not a new phenomenon or conversation. Yet its increasing normalisation raises difficult questions about consent, coercion and gendered violence. Through this self-portrait, I confront an experience that is often minimised or eroticised in the hope that the viewer might reevaluate this from of gendered violence.
$1000
Please note that the price is AUD and does not include shipping, artwork to be collected on the last day of the exhibition Sunday the 18th of October between 10am and 4pm unless an alternative has been arranged with the artist.
Jake, 2026, Oil on ACM panel, 20 × 30cm
This is a portrait of my brother Jake.
If you are interested in commissioning a painting of someone special please email Alanah at alanah_ellen@hotmail.com
$1000
Please note that the price is AUD and does not include shipping, artwork to be collected on the last day of the exhibition Sunday the 18th of October between 10am and 4pm unless an alternative has been arranged with the artist.
He liked me better when I wore glasses, 2026, Oil on paper mounted on ACM panel, 15 × 20cm
He Liked Me Better in Glasses is a small self-portrait exploring the ways another person’s preferences can become entangled with our own sense of identity. The glasses become a symbol of giving in to another’s expectations, of changing, consciously or unconsciously, in order to be more desirable to another person. The work considers what happens when we begin to question whose gaze we are trying to satisfy, and what it means to reclaim our own image.
$400
Please note that the price is AUD and does not include shipping, artwork to be collected on the last day of the exhibition Sunday the 18th of October between 10am and 4pm unless an alternative has been arranged with the artist.
Healing, 2026, Oil on canvas,150 × 101cm
Healing is a self-portrait that reflects the often-unseen process of healing. Depicted lying in bed, in the dark and wrapped in sheets, my body appears unsettled yet determined. Physical and emotional exhaustion have accompanied me on my healing journey as I navigate autoimmune conditions and recover from endometriosis surgery. My body no longer behaves as it once did, forcing me to rest and to heal. I can no longer ignore the pain of my past, both physical and emotional.
My bed was once a place I dreaded. As a child, I always had trouble sleeping, and the bed became associated with restlessness rather than rest. Only recently has it become a safe space, a place where I can allow myself to heal.
This piece pays homage to one of my favourite artworks, My Bed by Tracey Emin. While Emin’s work confronts the aftermath of a period of personal crisis, my work considers what comes after: the quieter, slower process of recovery and the uncertain space of learning to care for a body that has endured.
Healing, for me, has been slow, uncomfortable, difficult and painful. This work acknowledges that recovery requires time, patience and the reclamation of one’s own sense of self. Healing is an acknowledgement that rest is necessary, that survival takes strength, and that reclaiming agency can begin with simply giving yourself permission to recover.
$2000
Please note that the price is AUD and does not include shipping, artwork to be collected on the last day of the exhibition Sunday the 18th of October between 10am and 4pm unless an alternative has been arranged with the artist.
Healing, 2026, Oil on canvas, 80 × 80cm
Healing is a self-portrait that reflects the often-unseen process of healing. Depicted lying in bed, in the dark and wrapped in sheets, my body appears unsettled yet determined. Physical and emotional exhaustion have accompanied me on my healing journey as I navigate autoimmune conditions and recover from endometriosis surgery. My body no longer behaves as it once did, forcing me to rest and to heal. I can no longer ignore the pain of my past, both physical and emotional.
My bed was once a place I dreaded. As a child, I always had trouble sleeping, and the bed became associated with restlessness rather than rest. Only recently has it become a safe space, a place where I can allow myself to heal.
This piece pays homage to one of my favourite artworks, My Bed by Tracey Emin. While Emin’s work confronts the aftermath of a period of personal crisis, my work considers what comes after: the quieter, slower process of recovery and the uncertain space of learning to care for a body that has endured.
Healing, for me, has been slow, uncomfortable, difficult and painful. This work acknowledges that recovery requires time, patience and the reclamation of one’s own sense of self. Healing is an acknowledgement that rest is necessary, that survival takes strength, and that reclaiming agency can begin with simply giving yourself permission to recover.
$1000
Please note that the price is AUD and does not include shipping, artwork to be collected on the last day of the exhibition Sunday the 18th of October between 10am and 4pm unless an alternative has been arranged with the artist.
Leon, 2026, Oil on ACM panel, 20 × 30cm
SOLD
If you are interested in commissioning a painting of someone special please email Alanah at alanah_ellen@hotmail.com