Grace Lillian Lee
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About
Lee reimagines traditional Torres Strait Islander techniques through a distinctly contemporary lens. Her work sits at the intersection of cultural heritage and innovation, exploring themes of identity, performance, and community through intricately constructed sculptural forms.
Grace Lillian Lee is a Meriam Mer artist and curator from the Torres Strait Islands, living and working in Cairns (Gimuy), Australia.
Renowned for her sculptural weaving practice, Lee reimagines traditional Torres Strait Islander techniques through a distinctly contemporary lens. Her work sits at the intersection of cultural heritage and innovation, exploring themes of identity, performance, and community through intricately constructed sculptural forms. Across her practice, Lee uses fibre as a medium of transformation, materialising memory, protection, and Indigenous sovereignty through bold, contemporary expressions.
In 2025, Lee presented her debut independent couture presentation, The Guardians, at 229LAB, an immersive showcase blending sculptural couture, ceremony, and projection. This built upon her major 2024 solo exhibition, The Dream Weaver: Guardians of Grace, at the Brisbane Powerhouse. Later in 2025, her inaugural solo exhibition with CASSANDRA BIRD PARIS, The Winds of Guardians, presented a pivotal installation of colour-coded woven monuments and video work navigating her diverse lineage across China, the Torres Strait, Papua New Guinea, and Australia.
Recent institutional solo and group exhibitions include: National Museum of Australia, Canberra; BHV Marais, Paris; National Museum of Prehistory, Taiwan; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; JamFactory, Adelaide; Brisbane Quarter; and the 10th Asia Pacific Triennial (APT10) at the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane. Lee was named Indigenous Designer of the Year at the Australian Fashion Laureate (2024) and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Design from the University of Technology Sydney (2025).
Grace Lillian Lee’s work is held in prestigious public and private collections worldwide, including: the National Gallery of Australia (NGA), Canberra; National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Melbourne; Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), Sydney; Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane; and the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney.
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Exhibitions
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Selected Artworks
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Grace Lillian Lee
The Dreamweaver, 2025bamboo, cotton weave, necklace, skirt, cotton and kullup shaker matchbox bean tree seed and video, 1min, 52sec loop
Dimensions variable -
Grace Lillian Lee
Wall Flowers: Her Light II, 2026cotton, wool, timber and acrylic
45 x 40 x 20cm -
Grace Lillian Lee
Wall Flowers: Still Growing II, 2026cotton, wool, timber and acrylic
45 x40 x 20cm -
Grace Lillian Lee
Wall Flowers: Her Name II, 2026cotton, wool, timber and acrylic
45 x 40 x 15cm -
Grace Lillian Lee
Wall Flowers: Her Light I, 2026cotton, wool, timber and acrylic
60 x 70 x 25cm -
Grace Lillian Lee
Wall Flowers: The Distance Between Us II, 2026cotton, wool, timber and acrylic
45 x 40 x 20cm
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