William Cheesman and Laura Wills are a collaborative art and design team based in Adelaide on Kaurna land going by the name Wills Projects. We sat down with this inspiring pair to talk about their Exhibition Moth Signs displaying at the Joinery all throughout October.

Welcome to the Joinery! What's the story behind Wills Projects?

Our contemporary arts practice regularly responds to setting and community contributing to the development of emergent ideas. Collaborating with other sectors we make large scale artworks for public space often with participatory and ephemeral elements that are inspired by nature.

Moth Signs series were first created for Under Story exhibition at Post Office Projects, Port Adelaide earlier in the year. We are excited to create more Moths for the Joinery as part of Nature Festival 2022. 

Tell us about yourselves as artists in three words

Collabs, mycelium and relationships

What do you like about The Joinery?

We love the garden and the bikes. We both love to grow food and ride our bikes around Adelaide.

Why is it meaningful to you to have your artwork showcased here?

It’s great to connect with a supportive, progressive and regenerative space. It relates to our ethos and way of working, it feels like the moths flew to the right place for a visit.

What inspired you to create this work?

We have been researching moths. It started with mycelium and what happens underground. What we don’t see but are so connected to.

Rain Moths live underground for 7 or 8 years then come up after the rain in Autumn. We love this alternative perception of time, compared to Monday to Friday 9 to 5. Who decided that? 

What is the message you want audiences to take away from this exhibition?

Moths are beautiful, important and each one has its own story. And reusing materials is fun and easy.

You can find Wills Projects on their website and Instagram