Boni Cairncross

Dr. Boni Cairncross is a Lecturer in Visual Arts: History, Theory, Practice at the University of Wollongong, where she joined the School of Arts, English and Media, Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities in February 2024. Previously, she held a Career Development Fellowship position (2022-2023) and served as a Sessional Academic (2013-2021). She also taught at UNSW Sydney (2015-2019).

Dr. Cairncross' research explores the intersection of art, feminist histories, and the human sensorium through labor-intensive textile and performance practices. Her work examines how tactile knowledges are acquired, shared, and extended through slow making approaches and durational performance. She investigates multisensory frameworks that shape political understandings of materials and our encounters with them.

Her recent creative output shows a strong focus on textile-based works, particularly embroidery and natural dye processes, with themes exploring time, material politics, and sensory engagement. Works like 'Unfolding Out' (2024), 'Loops & Tangles' (2022), and 'The Embroideries' series demonstrate her commitment to slow, careful making processes that challenge conventional sensory hierarchies.

• PhD in Creative Practice from University of New South Wales (2019)
• Artist residencies in Australia, Mexico, Greece and Peru
• Exhibitions at Artspace (Sydney), Bus Projects (Melbourne), Margaret Lawrence Gallery (Melbourne), and Perth Institute of Contemporary Art (Perth)

Dr. Cairncross coordinates core art history and theory subjects at 100, 200, and 300 levels while teaching visual art studio subjects. She supervises research in textiles, performance and installation art, materials & process, the senses, and durational aesthetics. Her practice-based research approach integrates scholarly inquiry with artistic creation, creating a reciprocal relationship between her studio practice and academic work.