Image 1 of 7
Image 2 of 7
Image 3 of 7
Image 4 of 7
Image 5 of 7
Image 6 of 7
Image 7 of 7
Synthesis by Studio Shields is presented within the Bishop’s Parlour and Foyer at the Abbotsford Convent. Heritage architecture becomes the framework for a contemporary interior installation, where encaustic tiles, stained glass and time-worn timber remain untouched, allowing the building’s existing character to anchor the space. Within this setting, a collective of Australian designers and artists present contemporary collectible works arranged as layered domestic vignettes rather than isolated objects.
Hannah Nowlan is an Australian artist and curator, and founder of Lander—Se an artist-run gallery established in Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula (2024). In 2025 she became the owner of Nunchi Oils, a sensory wellness brand. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing and Printmaking from the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne (2015).
Nowlan’s practice is predominantly painting, exploring site specific works that evoke the spirit and atmosphere of landscape. Her abstract terrains draw on notions of sensory ghosts, mythology and the unseen. In 2025 Nowlan expanded her practice into scent-making through the exhibition SENSE at Lander—Se, bringing together oil paintings and perfume oils within a sensory installation.
Across painting and scent, her work investigates the invisible qualities of landscape; the emotional, sensory and atmospheric traces that linger beyond the physical scene. In dialogue, the two practices echo one another: colours become notes, textures become accords, memory becomes material.
Artist Statement
“Shield began through an ongoing fascination with the periwinkle shell — its spiralling geometry, protective surface and the symbolism of carrying softness within a hardened exterior. I was drawn to the idea of the shell as both armour and sanctuary; something that protects our vulnerable interior worlds while still remaining shaped by time, weather and movement.
The painting expands this idea through layered gestures and shifting terrain-like forms that move across the surface like protective markings or changing landscapes. I wanted the work to feel both grounded and fluid at once — somewhere between landscape, memory and abstraction.
Alongside the painting, I created a corresponding Interior + Perfume Oil through Nunchi Oils as an extension of the work into atmosphere and scent. Rather than creating a traditional perfume, I wanted the scent to function like an invisible layer of the painting itself — something warm, smoky, grounding and enveloping that could inhabit both the body and the space around it.
Woods, resin and subtle sweetness unfold slowly through the room, lingering on skin, fabric and memory long after leaving the space. Together, the painting and scent explore ideas of protection, ritual and the emotional architecture we build around ourselves — the ways we seek shelter, softness and grounding within an increasingly overstimulated world.”
— Hannah Nowlan
