Jill Chism, Placeless, 2024, NorthSite Contemporary Arts, Cairns. Discarded wood from building projects, burnt sticks, recycled board and glass mirrors. Installation size: 5m x 5m x 2.2m. PUNQ 2026 Commission. Photograph: Kerry Trapnell.
Butterfly Walk and Butterfly Forest located near the Bungalow Bay Koala Village off Arcadia-Horseshoe Bay Road in Horseshoe Bay, QLD 4819, Australia.
View the interactive PUNQ Art Trail Map for directions.
Venue AccessibilityNearby public parking is available.
The venue is accessible via the Magnetic Island bus service, with a bus stop located in Horseshoe Bay within walking distance of the venue.
Nearby street drop-off points are available.
The venue will be clearly marked with PUNQ festival signage.
Accessible public toilets are available nearby in the Horseshoe Bay precinct.
Quiet spaces are available throughout the venue, with a natural outdoor environment and no amplified music.
PricingThis is a free event.
Wednesday 23 September - Saturday 11 October 24 hrs
Placeless
Jill Chism
Placeless 2026. Butterfly Garden, Yunbebun/ Magnetic Island. Life Sized. Discarded carpenters wood, mirrors, sticks, engraved board.
Placeless, an installation in the Butterfly Garden on Yunbenun / Magnetic Island, explores themes of urban development, environmental displacement, homelessness, and the search for freedom. Constructed as a cluster of welcoming, human-scale house frames, the work initially evokes familiarity and shelter. However, closer inspection reveals an unsettling quality, encouraging viewers to reflect on ideas of home, belonging, attachment, and what it truly means to be free.
An etched quotation from the poet Rumi is embedded within the installation, suggesting that by releasing attachment to identity, ownership, and the notion of “my house,” we open ourselves to greater presence, connection, and freedom. This philosophical perspective invites audiences to consider how concepts of home extend beyond physical structures and material possessions.
Situated within the Butterfly Garden, the installation gains additional significance by highlighting the irreplaceable natural environments that have been diminished through suburban expansion. The surrounding landscape serves as a reminder of the value of ecosystems that cannot be recreated once lost.
Made entirely from discarded timber salvaged from building projects, Placeless also demonstrates the creative potential of reclaimed materials. By transforming construction waste into art, the installation promotes resource conservation, reduces landfill, and encourages more sustainable ways of thinking about both our built and natural environments.
About The ArtistJill Chism is an Australian artist living in Far North Queensland. She has a long and distinguished history in the arts, with creative expression deeply connected to her exploration of metaphysics and Non-Duality, particularly the question, “Who Am I?” Over two decades, she created public art projects across Australia, examining relationships between built and natural environments. Since 2007, Jill has focused strongly on environmental art, receiving an Arts Queensland Creative Fellowship for Waters Edge – Creating Environments. In 2018, she founded and curated Call of the Running Tide, evolving from a festival into an ongoing collaborative exploration of natural environments through sculpture, installation, and multimedia. Her current studio-based practice continues to centre on interconnection—between people, the natural environment, and processes of self-understanding.
Butterfly Walk and Butterfly Forest located near the Bungalow Bay Koala Village off Arcadia-Horseshoe Bay Road in Horseshoe Bay, QLD 4819, Australia.
View the interactive PUNQ Art Trail Map for directions.
Venue AccessibilityNearby public parking is available.
The venue is accessible via the Magnetic Island bus service, with a bus stop located in Horseshoe Bay within walking distance of the venue.
Nearby street drop-off points are available.
The venue will be clearly marked with PUNQ festival signage.
Accessible public toilets are available nearby in the Horseshoe Bay precinct.
Quiet spaces are available throughout the venue, with a natural outdoor environment and no amplified music.
PricingThis is a free event.
Back to HomePUNQ respectfully acknowledges the Wulgurukaba of Gurambilbarra and Yunbenun and the surrounding groups of our region; Bindal, Gugu Badhun, Nywaigi, Warrgamay, Bandjin and Gudjal as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather, share and celebrate local creative practice. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first people of Australia. They have never ceded sovereignty and remain strong in their enduring connection to land and Culture.