Dates: Wednesday, 18 June – Wednesday, 16 July 2025
Times: Monday to Sunday, 9:00am – 3:00pm, Thursday, open until late
Entry: FREE
Venue: CCC Capsule
Exhibition statement:
The installation at the Cardinia Cultural Centre highlights the Wobbly Wallaby’s windy wanderings, and brings the characters and themes from the book to life in a bright display combining the larger-than-life illustrations by Polina Hrytskova, hanging animals and excerpts of text and storylines.
You can find more on Prema’s work and buy books at www.premanishanstories.com, or purchase books directly from the Cultural Centre.
Artist statement:
Prema Nishan is an author, art therapist, conflict resolution practitioner and cake-maker who writes fun, rhyming children’s stories about the characters of our inner worlds. Part of her mission is to illuminate, educate and bring to life inner parts of us, in fun and moving stories that are enjoyable for children (along with their adults!) to understand and engage with and learn from.
As a hyperactive and restless child, she had constantly been punished and misunderstood for her seemingly disruptive and ‘abnormal’ behaviour. This inspired her to help educate, as well as honour and speak for the ones who struggle to sit still and focus on one thing at a time.
This is Prema’s third book – it focuses on celebration and education around neurodiversity and different ways of being, in a subtle yet powerful rhyming tale about a wallaby who can’t go in one direction, or hop in a straight line! In the story, the Wallaby meets a bandicoot who is quite opposite to her – he doesn’t like interruptions, follows the rules, and always digs in a straight line to get to his goal. Without using any labels or diagnoses, the story points to traits of ADHD and ASD which are becoming increasingly prevalent in our worlds and schools, and helps children to understand the gifts and the challenges of these different ways of being, and to learn creative ways of appreciating differences and working together. Ukrainian artist Polina Hrytskova illustrates this Australian-themed book in her artistic and uniquely beautiful watercolour style.
Prema is proud that she has created stories that children love and learn from, and super proud that ABC kids performer Jemma Armstrong has created a magical musical puppet show based on the Wobbly Wallaby, and brought this story to life through song, rhythm, interactive inquiry and body movement! This show will take place at Cardinia Cultural Centre on Thursday, 28 June.
To learn more about Prema Nishan, visit her website here.
Artwork credit: Polina Hrytskova, Wobbly Wallaby illustration.
Artwork credit: Prema Nishan, CCC Capsule installation.
