Working from found photographic slides of family holidays, swimming pools and other water-filled scenes, Morris traces how water has quietly recurred throughout his practice as both subject and motif. Here, water becomes a way of thinking about memory: fluid, cyclical and difficult to hold, surfacing and receding over time.
Morris translates these images into oil paintings, a medium that is itself fluid and slow to set. Despite this shift in medium, the paintings retain traces of the original slides, preserving their connection to lived experience. Light leaks, blur, overexposure and faded colour speak to the images' age and authenticity. At the same time, these imperfections interrupt the image, evoking moments of dislocation, alienation and instability.
Memory Tides invites viewers into an intimate and reflective space. Vibrant in colour and shaped by absence, the exhibition reflects on the ephemeral and fluid nature of memory.
Please join us to celebrate the opening of this exhibition at First Site Gallery, 5–7pm,
Wednesday 2 September.
Aleksander Morris’ art practice is centred on identity and the translation of photography into painting. His work is driven by colour and mark-making, with subject matter often drawn from interior spaces, architecture and his family archive. Using projection as part of his process, he works closely with photographic source material to establish direct relationships between image, surface and paint.
Morris was a finalist in this year’s Emerging Artist Award at Fortyfive Downstairs gallery. His work has also been shown at SOL Gallery and Red Gallery, and in 2025 he presented his first solo exhibition, Memory Rituals, at Artemisia Gallery.
He completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at RMIT University in 2025 and is currently undertaking a Bachelor of Arts (Fine Art) (Honours), also at RMIT.
Banner Image: Aleksander Morris, Honeymoon Smile (detail) 2025, oil on board. Image courtesy of the artist.
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RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.
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