The Conversation – Secrets
Lori Pensini
The Conversation – Secrets 2026
Self-portrait
Oil on raw linen
Diptych: 40 x 35 cm each
About the Artwork
I am biophilic by nature and this work comes directly from my long ancestral and lived experiences as an eighth-generation grazier working in the Australian bush. This work is a part of a series in which I’m exploring conversations with animals and understanding animal decision making for conservation.
The alarming human impact of habitat loss and degradation has set about critical social and environmental changes that affect all species populations and diversity. Such decline in biodiversity threatens our basic ecological cycles and has a direct impact on our own health. The Conversation – Secrets opens up dialogue around our engagement with animals, the differences in the way we perceive and experience the same world, and how we can balance the different realities to redevelop more sustainable models moving forward.
About the Artist
Western Australian artist Lori Pensini has been shortlisted for over 140 painting prizes and is recorded as Australia’s highest awarded artist five years running (2020–25).
Lori’s art practice is an exploration of self-identity and placement within her family’s multifaceted history and draws deeply from her generational multicultural heritage and lived experiences in the Australian landscape. The exploration of the relationship between (wo)man and the environment—both constructive and ruinous—is a constant thread and deliberation of her art practice, especially in the regenerative context. Her work seeks to create a narrative around our nature/culture identity and our role in planetary health.