Afterglow: Nature Photography Behind Tiny Dollhouse Doors

In Afterglow, Brisbane-based photographic artist Mai Naito fills the walls at fortyfivedownstairs with preloved dollhouse doors and windows. Peer through each opening to discover an impressionistic photographic landscape shaped by her childhood memories of exploring nature and the worlds she imagined along the way.

Collected from across Australia, the miniatures carry traces of the people who made and cared for them. One window came from a miniature scene its maker built as a child and chose to pass on years later. Other pieces arrived with their histories unknown, leaving room to imagine the small worlds they once belonged to.

The title Afterglow speaks to the warmth that remains in these objects. By giving the miniatures a new life, the artist hopes to honour their histories and let some of the affection they once held glow quietly again. The installation invites you to slow down, lean closer and make a little room for wonder.