Brodie Ellis
Ocean currents and upwellings
Brodie Ellis is a multidisciplinary artist living on Djaara Country in Central Victoria and working in Naarm. She is known for her research-based practice focused on environmental themes. Ellis creates exhibitions that combine painting, sculpture, installation, and moving image to address ecological and scientific challenges. Her work has been shown at the Rehmann Museum in Switzerland, ACCA (The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art), and the Biennale of Sydney. She has exhibited in group shows including “Material Place” curated by Ellie Buttrose at UNSW Galleries and contemporary video surveys at CareOf Gallery in Milan. Ellis’ installations examine how technology and ecology intersect. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Art in Painting from the Victorian College of the Arts (2005), and a Master of Fine Art from Monash University (2025), and began her PhD at the University of Melbourne, Faculty of Fine Arts & Music, in 2026.
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Thesis
Oceanic upwellings and archipelagic thinking in contemporary art
This research investigates ocean currents and upwellings, beginning with the Humboldt (Peru) Current, a cold, nutrient-rich current originating from Antarctic waters and moving northward along South America's west coast from southern Chile to northern Peru. The current functions as both material and metaphorical system, circulating nutrients, culture, and knowledge across oceanic and ecological realms. This project fosters synergy between scientific and artistic research to tackle climate challenges. It highlights interdependent natural systems and cultures, showing how these flows shape ecological and social resilience. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, it advances relational archipelagic thinking (Glissant) and materiality (Bolt) to address urgent planetary transformations.