Penny Brooshooft

Caius & Laeta

94 × 70 cm

Recycled cardboard, cardcrete, acrylic, plaster

Unsold

Suggested offer$1,900

Still available. Enquire by Mon 16 Nov, 8pm AEDT.

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About the work

Caius & Laeta is a figurative artwork made entirely from recycled cardboard. The work begins with a hand-built cardboard armature, which forms both the flat surface and the three-dimensional raised outer frame. This structure is then coated in my Cardcrete medium, a material made with 100% recycled cardboard made from scratch, creating a solid, textural base that has the feel of sculpted or built material rather than canvas. This work actually has a tiny imprint of my cats paw, which I only saw once I started painting layers that highlighted the imprint! This is shown in the pictures.

Caius & Laeta emerged from an intuitive curiosity toward images and surfaces that carry the imprint of time. Inspired by a photograph I took of a fresco in Pompeii, I was drawn to how its meaning had shifted - once decorative, it has gained greater resonance through weathering and age. The work adapts this classical reference into a contemporary form, where the subject remains rooted in antiquity while asserting a distinctly modern interpretation, exploring our connection to past, present, and future.

About the artist

Penny Brooshooft is a Perth-based artist who transforms recycled paper and cardboard into sculptural works that explore time, material transformation, and the shifting meanings objects carry as they age. Drawing on a background in zoology and a deep connection to the environment, her practice reimagines discarded materials as tactile forms that celebrate both sustainability and the enduring beauty of patina and wear. Working with waste paper and cardboard, Brooshooft has developed a signature material she calls “Cardcrete” — a clay-like medium that allows her to shape vessels, objects, and richly textured wall sculptures. Through a hands-on process of building and layering, she creates vibrant works that reference ornament, architecture, and historical materiality while remaining grounded in contemporary reuse. Her practice centres on the belief that materials accumulate meaning over time: surfaces soften, colours deepen, and traces of handling become part of the work itself. By transforming overlooked waste into enduring forms, Brooshooft invites viewers to reconsider both the value of discarded materials and the evolving stories objects carry as they move through time.

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