Sonia Payes is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice has consistently traversed the boundaries between photography, sculpture, digital media; beginning with experimental works that pushed her photographic imagery beyond the flat surface. Using her actual photographs to make moving images in a flip book style, Payes then moved on to digital works where she created animations of morphing faces that were displayed on screens, breathing life into still images and blurring the line between human and machine.

 

This early phase in 2007 led to a pivotal moment following an international residency, where Payes gained the confidence to transform her digital files into monumental sculptural forms. These first fiberglass sculptures became towering presences, extending up to 5 meters in height. A major public acquisition in Western Australia solidified her commitment to this path, validating her work as both technically daring and thematically resonant.

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From that point, Payes’ sculptural language has evolved with new material exploration, shifting from fiberglass to bronze, imbuing her works with both permanence and gravitas. Despite this material transformation, the core of her practice remains deeply personal and conceptually consistent: the face of her muse, her daughter, appears as the central motif in every work. Through this visage, Payes interrogates identity, transformation and the future of humanity in a rapidly shifting world.

 

Her surreal sculptures appear at once ancient and futuristic. They evoke a post-human presence rising from natural forms, fluid yet fossilized, suggesting regeneration from environmental decay. These ambiguous hybrids speak to our collective anxiety and hope: are we witnessing a rebirth or remnants of a civilisation lost?

 

Exhibiting extensively across Australia and internationally, Payes has continually expanded the reach of her vision. Most recently, her work was featured in Personal Structures at the European Cultural Centre during the 2024 Venice Biennale. Installed in the historic Giardini della Marinaressa, her bronze sculpture stood sentinel by the water’s edge, embodying the cyclical nature of existence and the deep interconnection between humanity and the environment.

 

In all her work, whether it be her photography or her sculptures, Payes invites us to consider not just what we are, but what we may become.