Ballad of the Burbs

Nicci Bedson

30 May - 9 August 2026

In Ballad of the Burbs, Illawarra artist Nicci Bedson paints the homes and houses that define the region’s suburban landscape. Her acrylic works capture familiar façades, softened by nostalgic detail and shifting light, inviting us to see the quiet poetry in the places we live.

The exhibition celebrates the rhythm and intimacy of suburban life — the conversations over fences, the symmetry of lawns and letterboxes, the traces of lived memory in built form. With a love for post-war and mid-century design, Bedson transforms the overlooked beauty of the everyday into an affectionate portrait of a changing Illawarra.

Commissioned and presented by Wollongong Art Gallery.

Image: Nicci Bedson, Beach Motel (detail), 2025, acrylic on board, 24.5 x 30.5 cm. Collection Macquarie Bank. Photograph: Johnathan Cohan