Through the imagery of queered landscapes, Nick Heynsbergh asserts the continued existence of LGBTIQA+ experiences in Melbourne.

The artist disrupts the innocuous perception of suburbs, reframing them as complex sites of celebration, violence, joy, isolation and community for LGBTIQA+ people. This subversion draws attention to the heteronormative forces and norms that confine queer identity in suburbia.

Visual characteristics of maps symbolise literal and metaphorical wayfinding, counteracting the malevolence of each vignette with an empowering sense of hope. Suburban Terroir considers the intangible connections between identity and place, encouraging audiences to contemplate the memories infused within their own surroundings.

This exhibition is supported by a Yarra City Arts Small Project Grant.

 About the artist

Nick Heynsbergh is a queer male-identifying artist who explores identity politics and their relationship to his home city of Naarm/Melbourne. Nick has held regular solo exhibitions in Melbourne and has also exhibited in numerous group shows across Australia. 

In 2021, Nick was the recipient of an RACV Arts Grant for artistic development, focussing on the interrelated themes of identity, memory and place. Nick has regularly been selected as an exhibiting finalist in a number of prominent Australian art prizes. Recently he was selected as one of ten finalists in the Macquarie Emerging Artist Award, and his body of work was Highly Commended, with two works acquired for the Macquarie Group Collection.

In 2022 he was awarded second prize in Red Gallery’s Redtrospective art prize. Nick was also Highly Commended in the Elaine Birmingham Landscape Watercolour Prize, awarded for technical excellence in the medium. Additionally, Nick was Highly Commended in the inaugural National Capital Art Prize, held in Canberra.