Nina Machielse Hunt's deep connection with the North East Victorian landscape paints the scene of Hyphen's latest Artspace Exhibition, Place In Between.
Guided by intuition and an unfiltered creative spirit, Nina's large-scale paintings are rich with expressive gestures, emotive visual dialogue and shifting compositions to create a deeply personal exhibition that captures the heart of her everyday journey through the local lands.
Nina reflected with pride on the journey her works have taken to reach this exhibition.
"I am pleased to be able to showcase this body of work after initially beginning the project here, resolving them in my home studio in Beechworth, then bringing the finished works back to publicly display where it all began," Nina shared.
Her three-month stay in 2024 as Hyphen's Artist in Residence in the Creative Studio gave Nina the space to translate her love of the region's topography onto canvas.
Drawn to "the stunning rural countryside, steeped in atmospheric qualities of generations of farming, native bush and First Nations Peoples," Nina pays homage to the landscape that defined her artistic lens for the series.
"My initial proposal for Place In Between, came about when I first moved to this region," she shared.
"We drove up towards Beechworth via Leneva and through that section of the Indigo Valley along that wonderful climbing winding road. This landscape was really breathtaking at the time and still is 11 years later."
Upon arrival at Hyphen's Creative Studio each day of her residence, Nina would immediately sketch or use watercolour paint on sheets of paper that lined the walls of the studio as a quick recall of her journey through the countryside from Beechworth to Wodonga.
These sketches became the foundation for her larger works, materialising her vision through this spontaneous exploration of her surroundings.
"This method was new for me, and I enjoyed the new direction that this way of working was taking me. This approach came directly from working in the Creative Studio space."
Beyond the studio, Nina frequently stepped into the gallery's broader library environment to explore the extensive literature on art, meditation, mindfulness and liminal spaces - themes that drew her attention at the time.
With creativity in the makeup of her childhood, Nina expanded on her passion for artistic expression through a Bachelor of Art Education at the College of Fine Arts at UNSW, followed by a Master of Gallery Management and Art Administration.
These studies paved her career across artmaking, teaching and gallery work, culminating in her role as owner and director of Beechworth Contemporary Art Space.
When reflecting upon the collection, Nina found herself with a deep personal connection to 'Being Present, Dhudhuroa Country'. Despite being one of the last works initiated, she found herself naturally drawn to the intuitive rhythm of the composition, and the artwork came together seamlessly.
"After a year of focus and research on the 'information' within the landscape, I could allow myself to respond more intuitively, and the painting kind of painted itself!" she explained.
The artwork also carries added meaning for her after local, indigenous artist Glennys Briggs nominated 'Being Present, Dhudhuroa Country' as her personal favourite in Nina's collection.
Place In Between reminds us how deeply art and landscape intertwine, demonstrating the power of memory, movement and intuition in shaping our perception of place.
Nina's work celebrates both what we see and what we feel, offering an intimate dialogue between artist and environment in this captivating series.
Experience Place In Between at Hyphen's Artspace Gallery, on display until Sunday, February 22, 2026. Plan your visit and immerse yourself in the landscapes that continue to inspire one of our region's most engaging artists.
