The first time Jessica Shannon graduated from North Metropolitan TAFE, formerly Central TAFE, her advanced diploma in industrial design came with a side of Global Financial Crisis (GFC).
Unable to find work and having spent her formative years in a Kalgoorlie Goldfields mining household, she found a job in the Pilbara mining sector, working various roles until her current as a survey assistant.
“I got my licence the day I turned 17, and the very next day I jumped in a car and drove to Darwin,” Shannon recounts.
“Since starting work in exploration mining, I’ve had the opportunity to revisit this magical place. I love the Pilbara, it feels both deeply Australian and incredibly ancient. My job allows me to see and experience parts of it that very few people ever do.
“Seasonal changes bring different birds and insects, and over time, of course I’ve also witnessed the marks industry has left on the landscape, changing places forever. Having grown up in a mining household, I’ve always understood that mining is a necessary part of humanity and the economy. Knowing that, however, doesn’t make it any less challenging to watch a landscape change or to see an entire hill disappear.”
A fortuitous conversation with a colleague at work, who was hoping to move to a part-time roster so he could be a stay-at-home dad, led to Shannon entering a job-share with him, giving her the flexibility to return to North Metropolitan TAFE to study an advanced diploma in visual arts.
Shannon’s artistic practice has since become centred around the theme of place, particularly the Pilbara, where the opportunity to make art about somewhere readily accessible to her — and that has such an impact on how WA is shaped — seemed like a natural choice.
Having been foraging and collecting for nearly 20 years, she uses found objects and materials in her works, drawn to the idea of discarded items finding a new place.
“Found objects carry their own stories and bringing them into a new context allows those histories to become part of the conversation,” explains Shannon, who lives in Spearwood.
“It’s hard to pinpoint my method as each work is created from an opportunity, or even a restriction, as it is presented to me.
“Most of my work has some kind of natural pigments in it. Either from mediums made from drill samples or pindan, or just from long periods of time in the environment gathering dust. As a result, my work sits together harmoniously. The collected textures and colours speak of the landscape and industry.”
Shannon is one of 21 artists from 20 tertiary art schools across Australia selected for Hatched: National Graduate Show 2026 at Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA).
Celebrating its 35th year, the country’s only national survey of recent arts school graduates are nominated by their teachers and then selected by a panel of acclaimed artists and curators to exhibit at the annual event.
Shannon’s two artworks featured in Hatched, In-Tension and Allowing The Dust To Settle, both feature the Pilbara as an active contributor, shaping the materials and mediums over time through sun, rain, heat and friction.
In-Tension comprises a series of hanging truck straps gathered from highways and toolboxes, while Allowing The Dust To Settle uses a method of experimental screen printing to apply paints tinted with pindan earth to sheets of canvas, that are then dragged across rocks or left exposed to the Pilbara elements.
“While driving between sites, and stopping for mandatory rest breaks, I started noticing all the rubbish along the highway and, amongst other things, truck straps were quite common, so I began collecting them,” the emerging multidisciplinary artist says.
“They’re full of dust and carry the smell of grease, sweat and toolboxes. I found myself imagining what had happened when these straps had let go. Had the load fallen and been damaged? What was being carried? What materials were being brought into the Pilbara?
“When I started thinking about their history, I realised the straps were a powerful metaphor for industry itself . . . The frayed and damaged straps a reminder for industry as well as the individual to consider their choices in a way that result in the least amount of harm.
“(For) Allowing The Dust To Settle, I just started wondering what the Earth would say if it was asked. It speaks of time and change, marks left upon the Earth by large machines, forever changed landscapes.”
Hatched: National Graduate Show 2026 begins with a Weekends at PICA afternoon of artist talks and tactile tours today August 1, followed by Hatched Family Day on August 8, featuring free registration art-making activities, including a Marks In Motion playful, hands-on workshop led by Shannon.
“It is completely surreal,” she says in reference to exhibiting her work at PICA for Hatched.
“I am hoping that one day I will get over the impostor syndrome. I feel like this platform might help with that.”
Hatched: National Graduate Show 2026 is at PICA, Perth Cultural Centre, August 1 until October 4. More at pica.org.au.
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