Elemental Bodies – Olive Gill-Hille

Olive Gill-Hille is a multidisciplinary artist and designer interested in the utility and symbolism of furniture that bridges the divide between the functional and the artistic. Taking an abstract approach to practical objects, she creates experimental pieces from timber that echo forms from the natural environment and represent narratives of the human body.

Born in Fremantle, Western Australia, Olive grew up as the daughter of two artists and spent a lot of time immersed in the coastal and bush landscapes around where she lived. While undoubtedly influenced by her artistic parents, she wanted to create a separate artistic identity from her family and relocated to Melbourne to complete a Bachelor of Fine Art specialising in Sculpture at the Victorian College of the Arts.“

Setting up her studio in Perth after the completion of her studies, Olive harnessed a newfound appreciation of the West Australian coastline, bush and desert, developing a strong connection to place that would go on to inspire her work.

“During this time I was left unsatisfied with the physical side of the degree; I really wanted to learn skills in making, particularly in woodwork,” says Olive. This led her to undertake the Associate Degree of Furniture Design at RMIT, where she learnt foundational woodworking and furniture design – skills which would go on to form the basis of her practice. Setting up her studio in Perth after the completion of her studies, Olive harnessed a newfound appreciation of the West Australian coastline, bush and desert, developing a strong connection to place that would go on to inspire her work.

She begins most of her work by sourcing timber from nearby properties, physically gathering fallen materials. Olive draws inspiration from her natural environment, the history of her materials, the human form and human experience. “Sometimes I try to convey feelings, such as grief, or particular moments, as well as representations of physical forms, bodies, relationships and supporting structures,” says Olive. “I like the idea of making art within a set of boundaries, such as necessary surface and function. I see a lot of different cycles in my work; sometimes it’s the cycle of life and death, other times the cycle of a relationship or the cycle of seasons or that of a tree.”

The feminine form is a recurring motif, a reinterpretation of the same interest shown by modernist sculptors such as Constantin Brancusi, Henry Moore, Hans Arp and Isamu Noguchi.

The feminine form is a recurring motif, a reinterpretation of the same interest shown by modernist sculptors such as Constantin Brancusi, Henry Moore, Hans Arp and Isamu Noguchi. “Where they created works of the female form almost as voyeurs, I see my work more as self-portraiture at times,” Olive says. In this vein, Barbara Hepworth is another major influence. “She was so strong and defined in what is a traditionally male-dominated field, something I still see myself, several decades after she pioneered her work.” Olive is represented by Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert, the first gallery in Australia specialising in functional art, and has exhibited nationally. Her first solo exhibition, ‘TRUNK’, was held at the gallery’s Rushcutters Bay space in October 2021 and was entirely made from salvaged or ethically sourced Western Australian timbers.

Highlights from this year include exhibiting as part of ‘Making Now – Australian Design’ at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney and being a finalist in The Ramsay Art Prize presented by the Art Gallery of South Australia. She has also been working towards her second solo exhibition at Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert. An inspiring maker who questions the utility and symbolism of furniture, Olive’s work reinterprets function and art in a way that is both innovative and beautiful. Informed by her personal experience, she creates pieces that are warm yet thought-provoking and powerful, using nature-inspired silhouettes to communicate deeper meanings than one expects from functional objects.