Updated August 24, 2017 13:42:41

Photo: Artists Caren Florance and Melinda Smith re-mixed words found on retro signage at Old Parliament House to poke fun at politics. (Supplied: Caren Florance and Melinda Smith)

Roundabouts, weasel words and suburbia are among the inspirations for a new exhibition by Canberra artists.

The exhibition, titled Lines of Site: Finding the Sublime in Canberra, spans ceramics, glass, painting, photography, letterpress, poetry and sculpture.

But it all pays homage to the quirks and joys of living in the capital.

"I deliberately went about selecting artists whose practices do explore Canberra," said curator Grace Blakeley-Carroll.

Photo: Canberra artist Cathy Franzi plays on Canberra's fascination with roundabouts in her ceramic works. (ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)

Ceramicist Cathy Franzi made works decorated with painterly scenes of Canberra - but it's their shape that stands out.

"The form of her ceramic pieces echoes that of roundabouts," Ms Blakeley-Carroll said.

"It's that idea of taking something that's often criticised about Canberra and making it into a work of art," she said.

Photographer Mark Mohell roamed the mountains around Canberra to find native plants that inspired his work.

He arranged sprigs of gum and banksia from Red Hill, Black Mountain and Mount Ainslie for a series of photographs and videos.

He said he finds the sublime in the flora that covers our yards.

Photo: Canberra photographer Mark Mohell was moved by the leaf litter we usually take for granted. (ABC News: Ben Harris)

"It's the freedom I find in the suburbs of being able to walk in the early mornings or late at night and be almost like a 'flaneur', where you enjoy your surroundings," said Mr Mohell.

Poet Melinda Smith and letterpress artist Caren Florance collaborated to subvert old signage found in the halls of power.

They re-arranged the words on the mid-century hand-lettered signs that once directed people around Old Parliament House.

"One of the signs that we made as a cut-up said 'Would indicated members please exit Parliament', which has turned out to be quite a relevant one this week," said Melinda Smith.

"You're standing in a big authoritative parliament building but all political structures are temporary and all physical structures are temporary," she said.

Caren Florance was inspired by the ways institutions use words.

"Words last!" she said.

"You've got voices from the past speaking to the present.

"You wouldn't think you'd find something sublime in politics but I think they've managed to do that," curator Ms Blakeley-Carroll said.

The show is on at M16 Artspace in Griffith until September 3.

Photo: The seven artists in the show all work in different media but are united in their love of Canberra. (Supplied: Caren Florance and Melinda Smith)

Topics: visual-art, arts-and-entertainment, photography, ceramic, design, animals-and-nature, australia, act, canberra-2600, ainslie-2602

First posted August 24, 2017 12:23:52