Paths that don’t go where people want them to go: Abbey Rich

Paths that don’t go where people want them to go is a reconstruction of strange occurrences in urban spaces. The work draws from case studies as well as personal exploration in the artist’s immediate surroundings. Abbey seeks to navigate the ego and the well intentioned yet harmful effects that urban planning has on the functionality of public space. The work can be falsely reduced to its aesthetic. The approachability of the paintings and sculptures, with their clean lines and a well informed, harmonious colour palette. When in reality it is a commentary on public and private space. Through sculptures such as ‘Stick a flower on it’ and a focus on distilled forms, Abbey is able to make their work accessible and engaging to all audiences, while critiquing the space around us. 

Abbey Rich is a public and exhibiting artist based in Naarm (Melbourne), Australia. Their work predominantly looks at gender and environment, with a particular interest in accessible and community co-designed public art making. Having created over 40 murals, their work traverses both public and private space with commissions from the Immigration Museum, Minus18,The Australian Open and Selina, but predominantly by councils and arts festivals.