Solo exhibitions

Canberra (2023)


My exhibition Zero Waste: Doing It Imperfectly was held at the Belconnen Arts Centre in the ACT from 13 October – 26 November 2023. It was viewable 24/7 in the Window Gallery adjacent to the theatre. I created most of the artworks in drawers, which I used conceptually in relation to sustainability and climate change.

Melbourne (2019 – 2023)

My exhibition Exuberance was held at the Proudkind pop-up, 54 Errol Street, North Melbourne, from 12 May – 9 July 2023. It featured works expressing owner Luka Wild’s enthusiasm, excitement and passion in setting up the shop. These works were brighter – more colourful, bouncy or cheerful – than my usual woodgrain, metallic, rust and black palette.

My largest solo exhibition was held at the Melbourne City Library Gallery on Flinders Lane from 15 December 2021 to 9 March 2022. Called In the Drawer: The Silver Lining, it recreated – sometimes as representations, sometimes abstracts – the innovative, creative and resilient activities that people undertook during COVID lockdowns.

I created all the works using found object assemblage and ‘framed’ within desk or bureau drawers, which to me symbolised the containment and isolation of COVID. I gathered the drawers, along with the wood, metal, tile and plastic used in their construction, from the streets and beaches. The City of Melbourne supported the exhibition through an Arts Grant.

Read the news article about the exhibition by Flora Sciarra in the North and West Melbourne News and the Creative Spaces blog by Annette McQuarrie about preparations for this exhibition.

From 2 December 2019 to 16 January 2020, my exhibition ‘Cityscapes from the City Streets’ was on at the North Melbourne Library. It featured about 25 of my small works in two display cases on the ground floor. I also held an open studio on 11 January in conjunction with the exhibition.

Vientiane, Laos (2019)

In September 2019 I had a solo exhibition called From the Streets of Vientiane at The Secret Art and Wine Bar in the Mandala Boutique Hotel in Vientiane, Laos. The exhibition was an art benefit for the Cultural Studies Series. All funds received from sales I donated to sponsor a publication by Lao young adults for Lao young adults. Big Brother Mouse has now published this book. The Australian Ambassador to Laos launched the exhibition, and an article about it is on the articles page.

Melbourne (2018)

My first solo exhibition in Australia, From the Streets of Melbourne, was held at the Melbourne City Library in January 2018.  You can read about it in my blog, or view the exhibition on Instagram using the hashtag #nancydeecitylibraryshow.

In October 2018 I had an exhibition and ran a free Art from Trash workshop at the North Melbourne Spring Fling as part of their Grand Designs program. You can see an article that includes a photo from the workshop in the North and West Melbourne News on the articles page. 

In November 2018 I collaborated with Julia Zoellner, a young German artist that I met through Instagram. Our joint exhibition was entitled Upcycled from the City Streets. It was held in Southbank at The Guild Assembly Point vitrines. You can read about it in the Creative Spaces blog. 

In December 2018 the School of Living Music enabled me to hold an exhibition as part of their end-of-year concert. It was a fundraising benefit for the Music for Everyone School in Luang Prabang, Laos. Then in April 2019, I held another small exhibition and Art from Trash workshop as part of the North Melbourne Spanish Language Fiesta (see blog).

Luang Prabang, Laos (2017)

My first solo exhibition was in October 2017 at the Lao Friends Children’s Hospital Visitor Centre in Luang Prabang, Laos. It was entitled From the Streets of Luang Prabang. I ran it as a fundraising benefit and raised several hundred dollars for the hospital. You can view the gallery on Instagram at hashtag #nancydeelaoexhibition .

Seedbank, in my solo exhibition Zero Waste: Doing It Imperfectly, held at the Belconnen Arts Centre in October-November 2023
Zoo Streaming, 44x67x15cm. In the exhibition In the Drawer: The Silver Lining at the Melbourne City Library Gallery.
Sim City 1. 9x15cm. Displayed in ‘From the Streets of Luang Prabang’.
Magi (Los Tres Reyes Magos). 8x15cm. Displayed in ‘From the Streets of Melbourne’. Owner in Queensland.
City in the Frame 1. 45x51cm. Purchased as a gift from the exhibition ‘Upcycled from the City Streets’. Owner in North Melbourne,
Water Under the Bridge, created jointly with Julia Zoellner for the exhibition ‘Upcycled from the City Streets’ at the Guild Assembly Point in Southbank.