Quiet Rituals of Repair: Tas Wansbrough Explores Healing Through Sculpture

Explore Tas Wansbrough’s ritualistic expression at Ballarat's Backspace Gallery.

Quiet, considered and deeply human, Fragments of Healing at Backspace Gallery offers a moment of pause amid the pace of summer. Local artist Tas Wansbrough draws on the ancient tradition of votive offerings to create a body of sculptural work that speaks to hope, repair and the steady work of healing.

Tas Wansbrough: Fragments of healing

When: Until 26 January 2026
Where: Backspace Gallery, Ballarat
Cost: Free

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Dating back to ancient Greece and present across many cultures, votive offerings are objects created and gifted as part of rituals of care. They are made to seek restoration, express gratitude or mark a passage between pain and relief. In Fragments of Healing, Wansbrough reinterprets this practice through contemporary sculptural forms, grounding ancient ideas in tactile, bodily objects.

Each work is shaped through repeated acts of cutting, carving and sanding. The labour is intentional and rhythmic, with every gesture leaving its trace on the timber forms. Through this repetition, the act of making becomes ritual in itself. What begins as raw material is slowly transformed through care and persistence, mirroring the slow, non-linear process of healing.

The sculptures suggest fragments of the human body, not as literal representations but as quiet echoes of vulnerability and resilience. Pigment and texture soften the forms, encouraging close looking and reflection. Rather than offering grand statements, the works operate as intimate gestures, inviting viewers to consider how meaning can be made through attention, time and repetition.

At its heart, Fragments of Healing asks how creative practice can hold space for pain, hope and repair. The exhibition encourages audiences to reflect on their own experiences of healing, and how small, deliberate actions can carry weight and intention.

The exhibition is presented at Backspace Gallery in Ballarat, part of the Art Gallery of Ballarat’s ongoing activation of alternative arts spaces while the main gallery undergoes interior upgrades. Backspace continues to provide an important platform for local and emerging artists, keeping contemporary art visible and accessible within the region.

Fragments of Healing runs until 26 January 2026 and is free to visit.

Find out more about the exhibition here.