In a Room is a conversation series where we ask our friends to share their favourite domestic spaces. For this edition, we’re joined by artist, curator, and China Heights founder EDWARD WOODLEY.
Edward Woodley is a Sydney-based artist and co-founder of China Heights, a gallery that has been a cornerstone of the city’s contemporary art scene since 2004. His multidisciplinary practice encompasses painting, sculpture, and installation, often characterized by layered typographic elements and a strong graphic sensibility. Woodley’s work draws inspiration from punk aesthetics, disruptive pattern material, and Bauhaus design principles, resulting in pieces that explore the interplay between materiality and visual language. Notably, his 2024 exhibition “Cherish,” in partnership with Louis Vuitton, showcased his use of salvaged industrial materials and signage to reflect on the iconography of public spaces and control.
In this edition, Edward talks space, memory and mood: from a family studio overlooking Pittwater to the backroom at China Heights. He talks about the rooms he’s drawn to, the quiet fixes that matter, and the ones that never leave you. Like Tom Hanks’ trampoline loft, which still lives rent-free in his imagination.
Edward Woodley ◆ Photo by Banjo
Which room are you in today?
I'm in my public/private studio at the back of China Heights on Foster St, Sydney. The space is an open-plan warehouse floor with room to expand or contract depending on the day's activities. It serves as the gallery's showroom, packing area, and viewing room, while also functioning as a studio residency for exhibiting artists. It's a vibrant, busy space - great for meetings and sparking new creative ideas.
Which room is the heart of your home?
The dining room is the heart of our home, where family and friends come together to share meals and time with each other.
Is there a room from your past that has stayed with you?
Growing up in Church Point with artist parents meant my favourite time was spent in their home art studio overlooking Pittwater. The stacked shelves of books and materials, and piles of artworks in progress stay with me, still informing how I live and run my studio.
What makes a room feel like home and not just a space?
Being with loved ones is essential, but so is surrounding yourself with meaningful objects. My home lacks the usual comfy couch or background television, but gains warmth from lovingly collected books, artworks, and furniture that each tell a story.
What sort of rooms do you try and avoid?
Through daily observation, I've realised it's not the room itself but the objects, colours, and lighting used. Everything is designed by someone, and good design costs no more than bad design. Solutions can be simple: changing a light globe's temperature, repositioning furniture, or fixing a dripping tap.
Is there a kind of room you’re always drawn to?
Kitchens and libraries/bookshelves. They're semi-utilitarian, but you see the real workings of a person in those spaces.
What is your all time favourite room?
Conceptually: Tom Hanks' character's NYC warehouse loft apartment in the 1988 film Big.
Edward Woodley ◆ Photo by Shal XVX
