Melissa Spratt, Stream of Consciousness, 2024, finger-knitted wool on canvas

Sensitised and Sentimental

Melissa Spratt

Melissa Spratt is a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP). A trait identified in 1996 by psychologist Elaine Aron, HSP’s experience extra-ordinary bodily and emotional responses to a variety of emotional and sensory stimuli. In SENSITISED & SENTIMENTAL Spratt uses wool, a fibre which can both soothe and irritate, to elucidate the experience of being a HSP. Each work is laboriously constructed from lengths of finger-knitted wool. Shying away from the comforting connotations of textiles, Spratt instead uses texture, text and colour to explain her experience. In bold capitals and high value colours, Spratt shares short statements and longer, stream of consciousness style phrases conveying the flood of emotions and thoughts she endures as a HSP, these nuanced works capturing the dynamic nature of the senses.

Summary written by Bree Di Mattina

Artists: Melissa Spratt
Opening: Thursday 23 April 6pm
Exhibition: 24 April–30 May 2026
Where: BAMM Gallery
FREE

Biography

Melissa Spratt is a textile artist who lives and works on the Gold Coast. Spratt studied at Queensland College of Art in a Bachelor of Digital Media Honours, Fine Art. Spratt has worked with various mediums; painting, photography, drawing and printmaking, but has found most enjoyment in sculpture and installation. Exploring textile and surface design elements, she works closely with yarn making techniques, where she is most known for her finger-knitted artworks.

Spratt has won and been a finalist in numerous awards and prizes, more recently a finalist in the 2022 Wollumbin Art Award, and BAM Art Prize. She also facilitates workshops for festivals, galleries, libraries and schools. Spratt was the 2018 invited AiR at The Walls Art Space in Miami, where she had a solo exhibition titled Essential Existence. In 2019 Melissa was AiR at 11th Ave Creative in Palm Beach and was the first AiR at Relative Creative, where she collaborated on work for ‘Gold Coast City Futures Forum’.

After success at The Other Art Fair Melbourne, Melissa was given a place at The Other Art Fair Sydney, where she was listed in the ‘Top 20 artists to watch’. Spratt has been successful in several grants, including a RADF (Regional Arts Development Fund) project which was completed in 2021 titled SENSITISED comprising a body of 10 textile artworks, a print photo series and a documentary film.

Melissa Spratt achieved a place in the 2023/24 cohort for Generate GC where she has began a collaboration with fellow textile and craftivist Tal Fitzpatrick. This has seen Melissa and Tal complete a number of projects together; ‘StoryFest 2025’, ‘Threads of Belonging’ with EVERYBODY NOW! and ‘BLEACH* Festival’ 2025.

Spratt is thrilled to have opened her solo exhibition SENSITISED & SENTIMENTAL in the Boyd Gallery space at the Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre in September 2024 with a body of 20 finger-knitted artworks that speak to her lived experience as a Highly Sensitive Person. Now, she looks forward to working within the arts sector more and continuing to collaborate and exhibit new work in the near future.