Furari Flores (Stealing Flowers) grew from Cara-Ann's experience with serious illness and life-changing diagnoses. This project shares her story of living with disability explored as a relationship with plants and place. The project explores the expanded themes of storytelling, health and wellbeing, voice, home, data visualisation, plant histories and symbiotic relationships.
The Latin titles of Cara-Ann's artwork link to the ongoing use of Latin taxonomies in contemporary sciences, including the fields of medicine and botany. She recognises the irony in the continued use of a so-called 'dead' language within fields dedicated to life and regeneration.
Latin also evokes a sense of poetry, rich with emotive symbolism.
Furari Flores incorporates spectrography, the visual analysis of soundwaves. In the video works, the spectrographs correspond in realtime to field-recording compositions created from the plant's site.
Cara-Ann Simpson is an artist, curator, author, and educator. Her background spans arts, culture, heritage, and land management. Simpson is based on Wakka Wakka lands in southern Queensland. Her practice reflects her lived experience of disability and chronic illness. Simpson’s interdisciplinary practice engages with sensory perception, deep listening, and environmental interaction. She creates sensory connections to land, plants, place, and memory.
In 2024, Simpson premiered Furari Flores at the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) Art Gallery, supported by Creative Australia, Arts Queensland, Regional Arts Fund, and Australian Cultural Fund. In 2022, she won the Heysen Prize for Landscape (Hahndorf Academy), and Outer Space and Cultural Capital commissioned her.
During her Toowoomba Arts Footprint Artist Residency (2021), she partnered with Gummingurru Aboriginal Corporation, Paul Carmody and local creatives. She has been an awards finalist, including Ravenswood Women’s Art Prize, Sunshine Coast Art Prize, Burrinja Climate Change Biennale Art Award, Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize and Clayton Utz Art Award. In 2012, she received the University of Ballarat Emerging Artist Award (Flanagan Art Exhibition), and the Digital/Photographic Print Award (Albert Park College Art Show).
Currently, Simpson peer assesses for Regional Arts Fund, Arts Queensland, and Creative Australia. She is also a Flying Arts By Request Facilitator, and freelance curator. Simpson's law studies complement her interests in artist advocacy and consulting. She advocates for artists' access and inclusion, legal rights, recognition and fair pay.
Simpson fosters regional artists' careers through professional development and mentorship. Simpson has held leadership roles with Hervey Bay Regional Gallery (Fraser Coast Regional Council), Cruden Farm (Keith and Elisabeth Murdoch Trust), National Trust of Australia (Victoria), Bundoora Homestead Art Centre (Darebin City Council), and Electrofringe Ltd. Simpson won the UniSQ Young Alumnus Award 2017 for her arts and cultural work. Simpson graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Arts First Class Honours, UniSQ (2008). She won the Asia-Pacific Golden Key International Honours Society Visual & Performing Arts Sculpture Scholarship 2008.
For her undergraduate studies, Simpson received the UniSQ Faculty of Arts medal and a distinction award in 2007. Simpson won the 2007 Hobday and Hingston Bursary from the Queensland Art Gallery.
Simpson has exhibited and presented in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, Türkiye and USA with funding support. Public collections holding her work include Hahndorf Academy, Toowoomba Regional Council, Albury City Council, Darebin City Council, University of Sharjah and Alroe Solicitors.
Cara-Ann Simpson is represented by Onespace.
