10/10/2026
Thank you to everyone who came to the opening of The Great Boat Approaches by Deborah Norrie-Jones.
It was wonderful to see the gallery so full and to feel such strong support for Deborah and this deeply personal body of work.
Thank you for spending time with the exhibition, for reading the poems alongside the artworks, and for being part of the evening.
The Great Boat Approaches brings together painting, drawing and poetry created across many years, tracing a journey through relationships, mortality, grief and life after loss. At the centre of the exhibition is Deborah’s experience of her husband’s terminal illness, the travels they shared, their return home, and the years that followed his death.
Deborah’s practice is also informed by her work as an arts therapist. Much of the material for this exhibition grew from an early morning practice of charcoal drawing, where she worked intuitively with whatever emotions and experiences were present at the time. Fear, hope, faith, pain, love, despair and uncertainty move in and out of the work, alongside memories of places, journeys and moments shared.
We’ll see Deborah again on Saturday, 24 October at 3 pm for a Poetic Afternoon at the gallery. Deborah will read from her poetry and continue the conversation around grief, memory, loss and the role of creative practice in processing difficult experience.
Registration is recommended. Please register here: https://www.creativeroom.com.au/event-details/poetry-afternoon-with-deborah-norrie-jones
The Great Boat Approaches is on view at Creative Room Art Space until 3 November 2026.
