Raking leaves from gravel
19.02.26 — 22.02.26
Presented at Melbourne Art Fair 2026 with play_station artist-run space

Borrowing details from a medieval château and the inner city gutter alike, Raking leaves from gravel takes the form of an imagined streetscape. Through a practice led by walking, observing, and documenting, Bena Jackson collects evidence of agency, ingenuity, and cumulative changes within our urban spaces to inform her sculptures. Her processes develop textures and patinas that recall repetitions of pedestrian life, evidence of adaptation, and acts of care and maintenance.

As Aotearoa New Zealand’s young urban centres are faced with the evidence of critical underinvestment in infrastructure, this project considers what it means, and what it takes, for materials and forms to last over time.

Photos courtesy of Tom Denize and play_station artist-run space.

This project was supported by Creative New Zealand.