The heart behind the art

Wall of Hearts is a new free, all-ages exhibition showing at Forrest Chase from Friday, October 2, to Friday, October 30. Created by WA artist Erica Allia, the exhibition brings together 265 individual hand-painted hearts as one collective artwork, with each heart representing its own story, energy and meaning. Allia rediscovered painting while living in Bali during the COVID-19 pandemic, beginning with a single heart that soon expanded into an exploration of humanity, compassion, belonging and the invisible threads that connect us. BRAYDEN EDWARDS caught up with Erica Allia to find out more about the inspiration behind Wall of Hearts, the story of its 265 painted hearts and her hopes for where the project might go next.

Congratulations on bringing your new exhibition, HEARTME Collective – Wall of Hearts, to Forrest Chase! How long has this project been in the works, and how does it feel to finally reveal it to the world?

HEARTME has been evolving for some time, so to finally see 265 hearts together in one space is incredibly emotional. What began very organically has grown into something much bigger than I could ever have imagined.

There have been so many people involved in getting us to this point, and seeing it finally come to life at Forrest Chase is quite overwhelming. I’m excited, nervous and incredibly grateful all at once!

Forrest Chase was also a very intentional choice. I didn’t want HEARTME to exist only within a traditional gallery environment. I wanted the work to be in the heart of the city, where people from all walks of life could walk in, experience it and connect with it. HEARTME is ultimately about human-to-human, heart-to-heart connection, so making the art accessible to everyone was really important to me.

Take us back to the beginning. What compelled you to paint that very first heart, and what were you trying to capture or express at the time?

The first heart really came from instinct. I have always been drawn to the heart because it is such a simple symbol, but it can carry so much emotion and mean something completely different to every person. I wasn’t thinking at that point, “I’m going to create 265 hearts and turn this into an exhibition.” I simply wanted to create something that expressed love, colour, joy and connection.

Then one heart became another, and another. Each developed its own personality and story, and somewhere along the way I realised there was something much bigger emerging.

How was this different from the creative work you had done before? Given your background in fashion jewellery, what brought you back to painting as a creative outlet?

Creativity has always been part of my life. My background in fashion jewellery taught me so much about colour, texture, form and creating pieces that people form an emotional connection with.

Painting gave me another way to express that creativity. There is a freedom in standing in front of a canvas and simply responding to colour and emotion. With the hearts, I found myself working intuitively rather than trying to make every piece conform to a particular style. In many ways my different creative worlds have come together through HEARTME—art, fashion, colour, design and storytelling all sit quite naturally alongside one another.

Since then, the project has grown considerably and involved more people. Who else has been part of HEARTME, and what have they brought to the project?

That is really where the word “Collective” has become so important.

HEARTME may have begun with me painting hearts, but what you see today has been made possible by an extraordinary group of people who believed in the idea and brought their own expertise, energy and generosity to it.

We have people across art, fashion, events, media, business and the wider creative community involved, alongside our partners and supporters. Everyone has brought something different to the project. I have learned that you can have an idea and a vision, but bringing something of this scale to life takes collaboration. HEARTME has become much bigger than one person, and I love that.

You’re also inviting others to become part of HEARTME through your workshops. What inspired you to create a workshop specifically for neurodivergent children?

Inclusion has always been incredibly important to me. Art can be such a powerful form of expression because there isn’t necessarily a right or wrong way to communicate through it.

For children who experience or communicate with the world differently, creativity can provide another language. I wanted the workshops to create a welcoming environment where children could explore colour, creativity and self-expression in their own way. Most importantly, I want them to feel that they aren’t simply visiting an exhibition—they can participate in it and become part of the HEARTME story themselves.

The heart is such a universal symbol, but it can mean something different to everyone. What does the heart represent to you, and what do you hope people take away from experiencing the exhibition?

For me, the heart represents love, connection, humanity and hope. It crosses cultures, languages, ages and backgrounds. You don’t need somebody to explain a heart to you—we instinctively understand it, but we can each attach our own meaning to it.

When people walk through HEARTME, I hope they find a heart that somehow speaks to them. It might make them happy, remind them of somebody, trigger a memory or simply make them stop for a moment.

If people leave feeling a little more connected to one another—human to human, heart to heart—then HEARTME has done what I hoped it would do.

HEARTME isn’t ending with this exhibition. What’s next for the project?

Forrest Chase is really the beginning rather than the end. The vision for HEARTME has always been bigger than one exhibition. I would love to see the project continue travelling, evolving and connecting with different communities.

There are opportunities for new exhibitions, collaborations, workshops and partnerships, and I’m particularly interested in how HEARTME can continue bringing together art, community and purpose.

Ultimately, I would love to see HEARTME connecting hearts well beyond Perth—across Australia and, hopefully one day, across the world.

Finally, of the 265 hearts you’ve created, is there one that holds a particularly special meaning for you?

That is almost impossible for me to answer! Every heart has its own personality and carries a little piece of the journey. Some are connected to particular moments or emotions, and naturally there are some that I feel especially drawn to, but choosing just one feels a little like being asked to choose a favourite child.

What I actually love most is seeing which hearts other people are drawn to. Someone will stop in front of a particular piece and immediately connect with it, while another person will be captivated by something completely different. That personal connection is really what HEARTME is about.

HEARTME Collective: Wall of Hearts is showing at Forrest Chase from Friday, October 2, to Friday, October 30, 2026. For more information, visit ourwaparks.org.au