Tully Mitchell – RMIT School of Art Graduates

WHAT WE SHARE

Through painting and sculpture, I explore what it means to exist within a body and to feel a sense of belonging among others. My work focuses on connection, touch, and proximity.

In What We Share, I have been using lint collected from a commercial laundromat that services hospitals and hotels. This material contains traces of human life hair, fabric fibres, and skin cells, merging fragments of many bodies into one. When sewn into satin forms, the lint becomes both tender and unsettling: a physical manifestation of collective presence. These soft bodies, alongside oil paintings of elongated, faceless figures, explore what it means to be held, seen, and understood through shared material and emotional exchange.

Tully Mitchell artist stands in their studio wearing a paint-splattered apron, leaning against a worktable covered with brushes, paint cans, and art materials. Behind them, two expressive paintings of intertwined, elongated figures in red and pink tones hang on the wall, along with small fabric samples and sketches, creating a warm, creative workspace atmosphere. — Tully Mitchell, In studio, 2025, Photographer: Rania Hisham

My practice reflects an ongoing interest in how emotion, touch, and the body can be expressed through material form. I use satin, thread, and oil paint to create tactile, reflective surfaces that evoke intimacy and vulnerability. The works balance between comfort and discomfort, individuality and collectivity, asking what remains of us in what we touch, shed, and share. By reusing bodily residue, I explore the tension between attraction and unease, a space where tenderness and abjection coexist.

Tully cutting silver satin fabric with large metal scissors while holding a needle and thread. The fabric appears to be part of a soft sculptural figure with a crocheted blue and cream neck. In the background, there is a blue and red painting showing elongated human forms. — Tully Mitchell, in Studio, 2025, Photographer: Millie Hopton

Tully holding a large, pink satin soft sculpture shaped like an elongated, abstract body. They appear to be positioning or adjusting the piece in a studio space. The background includes paintings, art materials, and fabric, suggesting an active art studio. — Tully Mitchell, in Studio, 2025, Photographer: Jennie Wang

Tully installing a large, intertwined soft sculpture made of satin fabric in deep red and pale pink tones. They are holding a needle and thread while positioning one of the elongated limbs against a white wall. The sculpture’s forms overlap and wrap around each other, creating an impression of connection and entanglement. — Tully Mitchell, in Studio, 2025, Photographer: Millie Hopton

Tully Mitchell working on a painting that depicts two elongated, faceless human-like figures in red and pink tones, intertwined across the canvas. The artist is leaning in closely, applying paint with focus and precision. The studio background shows easels, tools, and other sculptural works, suggesting an active and creative workspace. — Tully Mitchell, ‘Stuck’, 2025, (Work in progress), Photographer: Jennie Wang

A large painting in progress is pinned to a studio wall, showing elongated, intertwined human-like figures outlined and partially painted in deep red and pink tones on raw canvas. The surrounding space includes a worktable with brushes, papers, and art materials scattered on the floor, suggesting an active creative process in a working studio. — Tully Mitchell, ‘Bound’, 2025, (Work in progress).

My name is Tully Mitchell, and I am a Naarm/Melbourne-based artist working across painting and soft sculpture. My practice centres on ideas of connection, materiality, and shared human experience.

instagram.com/tully.lm

Tully Mitchell