What Happens When You Give Me a Suburb
What Happens When You Give Me a Suburb
It Starts with a Conversation
Every commission begins the same way. Someone tells me a place. Sometimes it's specific: "My mum grew up in Tripoli, Lebanon." Sometimes it's a feeling: "I want something that holds where we got married." Sometimes they're not sure yet, and that's fine too. The best pieces often come from a conversation about what matters most.
That's all I need. A place. A person. A reason this location means something.
The Four Steps
You share your story
You fill in a short bespoke painting brief. You tell me the location, the person it's for, and why this place matters. It takes about three minutes. Then we talk. I ask questions. I listen. The details that matter most are usually the ones people mention casually, almost as an afterthought.
I research your place
I find the exact GPS coordinates. I source aerial photography of the area, the streets, the coastline, the terrain. I pull topographic maps and satellite imagery. I study the landscape until I can feel it. The suburb your mum walked through. The coastline your dad looked at before he left. The coordinates where your life began.
I paint it
The aerial map goes into the foundational layer of the canvas. It becomes invisible, buried under everything that comes next. Then I build. Thick acrylic. Heavy texture. Warm earths and golds. Layer after layer, built up over weeks. You get progress photos throughout so you can watch the work come to life.
Delivered to you
Your painting arrives gift-ready with a certificate of provenance documenting every embedded coordinate and the story behind the work. Free Sydney Metro delivery is available. Australia-wide and international shipping is professionally handled.
What Makes This Different from Other Commissions
Why not just buy a painting that matches the room?
You could. Most people do. They walk into a furniture store and grab something that goes with the couch. There's nothing wrong with that if decoration is what you're after.
But if you want something that holds meaning, that's a different conversation. A painting with your grandmother's actual aerial map underneath isn't decoration. It's her story board. It's evidence that she was here, that she survived, that the place she came from matters enough to be preserved in paint.
Can a painting hold more than one place?
Yes. Many of my most powerful pieces embed multiple coordinates. A homeland and the suburb where someone settled. The place where two people met and the hospital where their child was born. I layer them into the foundation so the painting holds the full journey.
How long does it take?
Most bespoke paintings take four to eight weeks from brief to delivery. This includes research, map sourcing, painting, and drying time. It can't be rushed because the layers need time to cure properly, and your story deserves that care.
Who Commissions These Paintings
Daughters buying for their mothers. Partners commemorating a place that matters. Families preserving a homeland they left behind. Business owners mapping their career milestones. People who carry more than one country in their chest and want their walls to reflect the full story.
If you have a place that shaped someone you love, I can turn it into a painting they'll never forget.
Start Your Bespoke Painting Brief
Tell me a place. I'll show you how I'd paint it. It takes three minutes. No obligation.
Book a ConsultationFor commissions and enquiries: hello@brigittegerges.com
Meet Brigitte
Brigitte is an accomplished contemporary artist whose work explores the intricacies of the human experience through a unique fusion of charcoal drawing, textiles, and mixed media. Based in Sydney, Australia, she draws inspiration from her multicultural heritage and her extensive travels across the globe, weaving stories of identity, emotion, and connection into every piece she creates.
Awards
Brigitte’s talent and dedication to her artistic practice have not gone unnoticed. She has been honoured with several awards that reflect her contributions to the art world:
- Artist Residency – (2023)
Artist Residency- Studio Panicale. Northern Tuscany, Italy. 2023; 5 week residency.
- Australian Art Ambassador Award – (2024)
Art Connects Women International Exhibition. Dubai, UAE. Under the patronage of UNESCO.
Each award underscores Brigitte’s commitment to pushing boundaries, both in terms of technique and storytelling.
Publications
Exhibiting artist & Curator
2024- Art Connects Women - ZeeTV Dubai, UAE
2023- I am you, Interview at Florence Biennale 14th Edition
2023 - ‘I am you- Individual and collective Identities in Contemporary Art and Design’ Florence Biennale 14th
Edition, Catalogue
2023 - Contemporary Drawing Biennale Catalogue- Polish Art Foundation
2016- Splitting Sides- MOP Projects
2014- Light and Shadow: A collaborative exhibition between established architects and emerging visual artists
2014- Beyond a Thousand Words, a Slide Show
2013- A Transposition of Space - Part 2: Lucid Dreaming - Part 3: Food For Thought” (International
Exchange with Concord Gallery, Los Angeles)
The Torch - Bankstown Newspaper ed. Mariam & Jane at BYDS; “Rats Let Loose For Diverse Art Exhibition”
August 7th Wednesday 2012. p7.
Current Exhibitions & Curatorial Projects
Brigitte’s work continues to evolve, with upcoming exhibitions and projects that push the boundaries of both her medium and her themes. Stay connected to see where her artistic journey takes her next!