The Whisper in the Leaves
A touring exhibition exploring the stories held within iconic Australian trees.
The Whisper in the Leaves is a collaborative touring exhibition by Bronwyn Davies, Joolie Gibbs and Shelley Pisani. Through drawing, sculpture and installation, the exhibition explores trees as witnesses to history, memory and environmental change.
Bronwyn Davies' contribution comprises fourteen works created with natural inks, charcoal and vintage maps, alongside the installation Traces. Together these works consider the cultural, ecological and emotional stories embedded within Australian landscapes and the trees that inhabit them.
Exhibition: The Whisper in the Leaves
Artists: Bronwyn Davies, Joolie Gibbs, Shelley Pisani
Year: 2025–26
Venue Premiere: Gympie Regional Gallery
Bronwyn Davies Works: 14 artworks + installation
Mediums: Natural inks, charcoal, gouache, graphite paint, vintage maps, found objects
Status: Touring exhibition
Into My Arms (2023) Graphite paint and gouache on vintage map of Phillip Island 70.5 x 100cm Moonah Tree, Phillip Island, Victoria These sculptural trees have been shaped over centuries by wind, salt, and coastal light, their forms twisted into gestures of embrace. A Boonwurrung story tells of two lovers whose devotion became entwined within the Moonah tree, their bodies transformed into its trunk and branches. This work holds that story as an act of connection and becoming—where human presence and tree form merge into one continuous shape. It reflects on love, transformation, and the emotional landscapes carried within living trees.
Song to the Listening Sky (2023) Natural inks pigments, guache, watercolour, graphite paint on acid free paper 140 x 110 cm Curtain Fig, Ficus virens, Yungaburra, Atherton Tablelands, Queensland The Curtain Fig of the Atherton Tablelands is approached here as a living presence shaped through time, light, and interconnection. Its vast aerial roots descend like a language between canopy and earth, forming a structure that feels both grounded and responsive. Growing within the endangered Mabi Forest, the tree holds the atmosphere of centuries within its form. This work listens to the tree as a witness to change, inviting reflection on endurance, communication, and the quiet intelligence of living systems within the rainforest.
Calophyllum Dreams (2023) Graphite paint and charcoal over map of Queensland 73 x 86 cm Mastwood, Calophyllum inophyllum, Cooya Beach, Queensland Old we are—holders of time, wind, seas, and story. This work gives voice to the mastwood trees of Cooya Beach, shaped by salt, storm, and coastal light. Standing between land and sea, Calophyllum inophyllum carries the memory of weather and survival within its form. Its branches bend but do not break, speaking of endurance and continuity across generations. This is a meditation on resilience—on what it means to remain rooted in changing conditions, and to live with the rhythm of wind, tide, and season.
Under Carbeen (2023) Charcoal, pastel, watercolour and graphite paint over map of Gladstone 73 x 72 cm Moreton Bay Ash, Corymbia tessellaris, Eurimbula National Park, Queensland The Moreton Bay Ash, known as Goranja to the Kabi Kabi people, stands as a living presence shaped by fire, wind, and time. Its bark holds the marks of survival, its form rising with quiet strength from coastal Country. This work speaks to the tree as kin—part of an interconnected system of life where humans, land, and more-than-human beings exist in relationship. It reflects on endurance, care, and the deep ecological memory held within living landscapes.