Australian Artist Transforms Kep's Landscape and Local Materials into Art

KEP, Aug 31, 2026 (KPT) – Australian visual artist Julia Higgs has begun a two‑month residency in Kep, where she will turn the coastal town’s landscape, natural materials and community into a new body of sustainable, site‑responsive artworks, organizers said. Higgs is participating in the Art for Kep residency programme at Knai Bang Chatt from August 22 to October 22. Working across drawing, sculpture, installation and performance, she plans to develop new work through repeated observation of Kep’s forest edges, shoreline and changing light. “I explore, watch, listen,” she said, describing a process based on patient observation and returning to places to see how they change over time. Sustainability has been central to Higgs’ practice for the past five years. In Kep, she will continue using repurposed fabrics, paper, charcoal, natural fibres and biodegradable materials, while experimenting with pigments sourced locally, including turmeric and Kampot pepper. She said the use of such materials connects her work directly to the place where they are produced. Higgs first visited Kep in 2012 and has retained memories of its rainforest, shoreline and colonial‑era buildings being reclaimed by nature. The residency allows her to spend more time with the landscape and community, letting both influence her work. Her previous projects have explored time, natural environments and movement, including Remanence (2022), which documented ink melting onto paper in Finnish woods, and I drag a line out in the sand (2021), which traced a path across a Queensland beach. During her residency, Higgs will also lead a community workshop inviting local participants to respond creatively to their surroundings. The programme is expected to conclude with an open studio or public sharing of her work.