Arabic version: تركيب فني في هيلزفيل يفتح مساحة للحزن

According to ABC News, Victorian artist Clare James will open the second iteration of The Place for Lost Feelings in Healesville, creating a free space where visitors can spend time alone, light a candle and reflect on grief.

James, a painter, sculptor, gardener and florist living in Healesville, first arranged funeral flowers in 2019 for Harper, the 10-year-old son of a friend. Harper and his father were killed when a tree fell on their car. James built a twisting semi-circle of branches, flowers, moss, pebbles and fungi, weaving in Harper’s toys and inviting guests to place candles among the pebbles.

Later that year, she made a backyard installation called The Grieving Place using flowers recycled from a wedding. In 2022, James and her sister, artist Kate James, created The Place for Lost Feelings in an old Healesville hall. Visitors arrived from far away with what James described as extraordinary grief. One man diagnosed with terminal cancer later told her the experience was the first time he had accepted his mortality.

The new event was originally planned for March, but James’s husband, Mark, suffered a massive stroke while she was preparing it. She said the experience brought a new and profound grief over what he and the couple had lost, alongside gratitude that the outcome could have been worse.

The Place for Lost Feelings is supported by the Margaret Lawrence Bequest and will be held at The Healesville Living And Learning Centre on October 24 and 25. Bookings are recommended. Trauma response workers will be available to check in with visitors as they leave the installation.