by Loine Sweeney

Visual artist and social media influencer, Billie Justice Thomson, thinks of the Adelaide Park Lands as a very special “green ring around the city”.

“I really think it’s one of the key things that makes Adelaide so beautiful and unique” she told me, as we sat on at bench in the sun-dappled shade outside her studio.

Her perspective is informed by returning to live in Adelaide in recent years. 

She studied Visual Arts at the University of South Australia before moving to Melbourne just over ten years ago to build her practice. She built a cult following for her imagery of iconic food products, domestic nostalgia and plants, exhibiting in both Melbourne and Adelaide. She has almost 22 thousand followers on Instagram.

Some of the popular artwork of Billie Justice Thomson

Having since returned home, Thomson now has her studio in Gilles Street in the heart of Adelaide. Her studio convivially backs onto the Siblings cafe and she also works alongside a clothes designer in creative rapport. 

When travelling to and from work, Billie loves riding her bike through the Park Lands, often cycling past Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi (Park 16).

And at the end of a busy working day, the workmates from the adjoining businesses like to adjourn together to the nearby south Park Lands, spreading out their picnic rugs on which to relax and share a drink. “We really like to get away from our workspaces and sit on the grass, enjoy the space and the fresh air,” she said. “ It’s so nice to be able to sit out there.”

Billie values the role that the Park Lands play in keeping nature in the city. “Coming to live and work in the city of Adelaide, I found it really astonishing to find how many birds, bugs, and lizards - all kinds of creatures - haven’t been pushed out, that they’re still here where they should be. There’s just no way that they’d all be here if the Park Lands were developed over.”

She says the ‘naturescape’ is enjoyed “big time” by her pre-school son, Marvin. “He loves birds and is able to see them here in Adelaide fly across and through the city. We simply would not have access to those kind of birds if the Park Lands weren’t there.”

The Glover Playground in Park 20 and the Princess Elizabeth playground in Park 21W (both off South Terrace) near Billie’s studio are added bonuses. Mother and son have proved creative with their names, affectionately referring to them as ‘Tunnel Park’ and ‘Castle Park.’

Glover playground South in Park 20 or as Marvin would call it: “Tunnel Park”

Princess Elizabeth playground in Park 21W (or as Marvin would call it: ‘Castle Park’)

In addition to birds, her son Marvin also delights in visiting horses in Lefevre Park / Nantu Wama (Park 6) along with his mother, Billie and his grandfather, Mark.

Does Billie have a favourite spot in Adelaide’s Park Lands? “The fondest memories for me are probably spending time in the Park Lands along South Terrace, especially the bushy pocket of Australian native vegetation in the south western corner.”

Some of the sights in Billie’s favourite location, Golden Wattle Park / Mirnu Wirra (Park 21W). 

“This was especially precious to me during COVID lockdown. Marvin and I would go there, actually move away from the playgrounds and away from the football field, and really explore the mostly native shrub area. From there, we couldn’t even see the roads and it would feel like we were away from the city and in the bush. It did not feel at all like we were within a few hundred meters of the CBD! It was so special, particularly during lockdown, and I was grateful to have it. There are a lot of reasons the playgrounds are great, but the actual bush areas let you get away into real nature.”

Alongside her studio practice, Billie Justice Thomson is in demand for commission work, public murals and illustrations. Botanical themes adorn an organic store shop window and even soften the appearance of a concrete pylon of the Tonsley Bridge. “That was a nice opportunity to look at native plants, particularly ones on the endangered list.” 

Billie reflects on the love she sees in her practice that people have for Australian birds and plants. “We want to go places where we can be amongst them and we want to hang their images up in our spaces.” 

She is now busy preparing works for a new exhibition planned for Prospect’s Newmarch Gallery in June, an ambitious series of paintings representing objects found in historic, science and art institutions of Adelaide, including the Museum of Economic Botany and the Waite Arboretum.

“I’m rediscovering work and artifacts housed in these places and then reimagining them to bring them into the contemporary world, put them in a new light and give them a new audience. By reimagining the objects, I’ll honour the artists and craftspeople who made the originals.”

There is no doubt that images of plants and nature will feature in this fascinating exhibition. And that ‘green ring’ around the city will continue to be an important part of Billie’s personal space and inspiration.