For over a decade, Amanda Shadforth has refined her artistic vision, capturing the intersection of art and fashion as a creative director, photographer, public speaker, and tastemaker.
With a sharp wit, disarming warmth, and an infectious sense of humour, Amanda Shadforth has a way of instantly making you feel as though you’ve stepped into her world — one where creativity and conversation flow effortlessly.
Achieving international success with her visual narrative works for luxury brands including Chanel, Dior, and Louis Vuitton, Amanda has always offered an outsider’s perspective to the fashion establishment, a sentiment and aesthetic she continues to convey through her works today.
paper mâché visited Amanda in her Sunshine Coast studio to delve into her artistic practice, tracing her evolution from one of Australia’s pioneering fashion bloggers, Oracle Fox, to her emergence as a fine art curator and artist in her own right. In an intimate conversation, we uncover the creative force behind the work and the woman shaping its vision.
Amanda The Artist.
Art has always been an intrinsic part of Amanda’s world. Growing up on a farm, she found herself drawn to the act of creation from an early age. “I was always collecting objects and making collages,” she recalls. Before the digital era, art was her means of storytelling, a tactile form of expression that eventually led her to painting and sculpture.
Now, after more than a decade immersed in the fashion industry, she is setting her sights back on fine art, aiming to exhibit her work in a gallery or an intimate setting by the year’s end.
Oracle Origins.
In 2010, the Amanda Shadforth brand transitioned from running a gallery space in Cotton Tree to launching Oracle Fox, a digital platform originally intended to connect with other creatives. What began as an art-centric blog quickly evolved into a space for showcasing fashion, architecture and design. Oracle Fox became a business, attracting collaborations and commissions for curated visual projects. Though the shift to social media has altered how she shares her work, Shadforth remains fluid, embracing evolution as part of the creative process. “You have to ride the wave and evolve,” she says. “When you’re creative, that’s part of the process.”
Inspiration in Motion.
“I know it’s a cliché, but travel is one of my biggest inspirations,” she admits. Whether visiting art galleries, exploring architectural marvels, or wandering through markets, she finds the narratives embedded in history and craftsmanship deeply inspiring. Still, her home on the Sunshine Coast remains the grounding force in her life. “If I moved, my creative lens would be altered,” she explains. “Being here allows my mind the freedom to have creativity.”
The Personal Archive of Home.
A Libran at heart, Amanda describes her home as a sanctuary filled with carefully collected treasures. “…home for me is like a personal archive of memories, I guess you would say.” Among them, a prized 80’s lamp by Australian manufacturer Pacific Green, gifted to her by close friends who went to great lengths to acquire it. “It’s treasured because of the design, the story, and the sentimentality of how it came to be in my home,” she shares. Her home embodies her warmth and kindness, a thoughtfully curated space where every object tells a story and carries deep personal significance.
Fashion as Armour.
Despite the warm climate of her home in Queensland, Amanda’s go-to fashion staple remains the blazer. “Anytime you put a blazer on, it feels like the icing on the cake,” she says. “It just feels like armour.” Her style balances structure and ease, often featuring pieces from Australian designers like Camilla and Marc, Anna Quan and Harris Tapper. Internationally, she is drawn to brands like Khaite and Magda Butrym, admiring their sophisticated yet powerful silhouettes.
Beyond the Canvas.
While many may associate Amanda with a world of refined aesthetics, there’s an unexpected edge to her warm personality. “I love adventure sports,” she reveals. A former motocross rider and a vintage car enthusiast, she thrives on the thrill of speed. “A few years ago I was working with Maserati, and they took us to Eastern Creek Raceway. So many people in the group hesitated, but I was like, ‘Give me the helmet.’”
In an industry often defined by relentless motion, Amanda finds equilibrium in nature. “The ocean is a big part of who I am,” she says. Surfing provides her with both a creative recharge and a connection to the natural world. “Growing up on a farm, I love nature. Even though it’s not a literal inspiration, the serenity and peacefulness allow my mind the freedom to be creative.”
A Study in Balance.
Amanda Shadforth’s latest series delve into the delicate balance between order and chaos, exploring a medium for tension, symmetry and redefined purpose. Amanda positions herself as both artist and conservator, seeking to establish order in the disharmony of solitude.
In Room Service, she captures moments of inertia — time seemingly frozen, yet brimming with quiet energy. Each piece in this suite reflects the human instinct to impose order, even amidst uncertainty. The compositions evoke a sense of controlled tension, where objects are precisely placed yet teeter on the edge of disruption, mirroring the fragile equilibrium we seek in daily life.
Her series Between a Rock and a Hard Place further explores equilibrium, both physical and visual. “Equilibrium exists in two forms: weight-bearing in reality and the notion of visual harmony for the observer,” she explains. Using everyday objects — some found, others collected — she creates compositions where hardness and softness coexist, reinforcing visual tension through a restrained colour palette.
Extending this dialogue into three dimensions, Utopia challenges perception through sculptures crafted from polymer, paint and plaster that mimic the solidity of wood, concrete and steel. “Each piece is a dichotomy: chemical versus organic, feminine versus masculine,” Amanda notes. Suspended or placed on plinths, her sculptures defy expectations of weight and depth, blurring lines between industrial precision and subconscious memory. Influenced by Bauhaus yet freed from strict architecture, Utopia is a deeply personal meditation on childhood isolation and the tension between escape and structure.
As she moves forward, balancing fashion, art and creative direction, one thing remains certain: Amanda Shadforth will continue to shape the visual world around her, refining it with the same curatorial precision that has defined her career.
Watch our film: Amanda Shadforth — A Life Curated in Art, Fashion and Design
