Elizabeth Willing, Moviprep, 2022 (detail), sherbet straws, 800 x 500cm. Courtesy Elizabeth Willing and Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne. Photo Andrew Curtis.

Crystalline brings together existing and new bodies of work by Brisbane based artist Elizabeth Willing that explore the interconnected qualities of alcohol and sugar. Chemically connected through fermentation and production, nor alcohol are essential for survival, yet are ubiquitous in our contemporary diet, associated with ritual, celebration, also disease. Working across textiles, sculpture and installation Willing’s works are performative and often participatory explorations of foods both concept and material.

In Crystalline, Willing responds directly to the unique particularities of North East Victoria’s agricultural and viticultural context and its familial and historical developments. Informed by her time spent with winemakers and food producers in the King Valley, Beechworth and Rutherglen a residency in early 2024 the exhibition challenges us to confront the complexity our relationship with these substances, evolution of how we consume them and why.