Lismore Regional Gallery, Media Release, 23 April 2026
Lismore Regional Gallery presents a major exhibition by acclaimed Australian artist Marian Tubbs, bringing together a dynamic body of work that interrogates the intersections of digital culture, materiality and ecological thought, from 8 May until 9 August 2026.
Titled I don’t sleep I just dream: unrefined in high definition the exhibition showcases Tubbs’ assemblage-driven practice, spanning video, lenticular photography, sculpture and installation. Drawing on both physical and digital detritus – from surveillance footage and found imagery to discarded everyday items – the exhibition constructs layered, often surreal environments that challenge conventional systems of value and perception.
Tubbs’ work operates across a series of tensions, including analogue and digital, natural and artificial, as well as ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture. Through unexpected juxtapositions of objects, images and language, she transforms the familiar into sites of inquiry, asking how meaning is constructed in an era shaped by technological acceleration and ecological instability.
Often humorous and deliberately disorienting, Tubbs’ work resists linear narratives of progress or decline. Instead, it reflects contemporary life in all its complexity, with data, images and commodities circulating at speed, shaping both individual experience and collective systems.
This new exhibition builds on Tubbs’ significant career trajectory. Her work has been presented in major exhibitions including Know My Name: Australian Women Artists 1900–Now at the National Gallery of Australia and Built Photography at the Museum of Australian Photography. A mid-career survey at University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) Art Gallery in 2020 further cemented her position as a leading voice in contemporary Australian art. Tubbs’ work is held in major public collections including the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.
Tubbs commented: “I am thrilled to work with Lismore Regional Gallery to present the largest exhibition of my work to be shown in NSW, especially important is that Lismore has been my home for the better part of a decade. When I moved from metropolitan life to the subtropics my friends said that it would change my practice and I am very excited to share with audiences how it has.”
Acting Director of Lismore Regional Gallery Courtney Gibson said: “Marian’s work conveys something essential and arresting about the way we live now; the constant interplay between digital and physical worlds, and the systems that shape how we assign value and meaning. This exhibition is both intellectually provocative and deeply engaging, offering audiences an experience that’s rich with insight and surprise.”
Based in Lismore and a senior lecturer at Southern Cross University, Tubbs’ inclusion in Lismore Regional Gallery’s program reflects an ongoing commitment to presenting artists whose practices resonate locally, nationally and internationally.
The exhibition has been assisted by STATION.
Exhibition details
I don’t sleep I just dream: unrefined in high definition
- 8 May – 9 August 2026
- Lismore Regional Gallery, 11 Rural Street, Lismore NSW 2480
- Gallery open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am – 4pm, open late until 6pm on Thursdays. Free admission
- Opening celebration: Friday 8 May 2026, 5:30 – 7:30pm
