Ainsley O’Connell’s current art practice is concerned with ’the leftover’. This is evident in her investigations into negative spaces - which can be viewed as the leftovers of positive forms - which have resulted in a series of sculptural works where the negative becomes the positive. Another series of artworks is derived from the negative spaces cast off discarded building materials.

O’Connell’s Woodsman series takes its name from a series of discarded, coloured oil stain samples. These rectangular swatches became counterpoints for background colour choices that both blend and contrast with the very specific offset application of the ‘leftover’ timber samples. Each work can be viewed individually or in combination with one or more other works to create a multitude of abstract patterns.

With a background as an architect, O’Connell has been simultaneously practising as a glass artist since 2004. She has been commissioned to make multiple trophies in glass, including the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series winner’s trophy in 2009. O’Connell completed a Master of Fine Arts degree at Elam in 2016.