In the Kids & Families Gallery Space on Level 1 of the Liverpool Powerhouse, four colourful oversized cloaks float above plush circular rugs. Created by Australian artist Lily Golightly, each cloak is decorated externally with vibrant imagery representing joy, love, sadness and anger in turn. Underneath these cubby house like structures, unfinished hems and paint splotches expose the rawness of each emotion.
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| Cloak representing "Love", To wear your heart on your sleeve 2025, Lily Golightly |
Part of an installation commissioned by Liverpool Powerhouse, the cloaks are joined by other larger-than-life accessories that Golighty has used to play on the exhibition’s title: To wear your heart on your sleeve. An oversized flower brooch, snake bangle, mourning ring and locket are among the objects, each accompanied with an invitation to interact with the piece and reflect on its meaning.
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| Flower broach, To wear your heart on your sleeve 2025, Lily Golightly |
“The cloaks and accessories are so big because I remember how massive feelings felt when I was younger,” says Golightly in her artist’s statement. Worksheets and coloured pencils spread out on low-set activity tables encourage children especially to connect with their emotions by answering the artist’s prompts.
In one corner of the Gallery, completed worksheets are hung with wooden pegs in neat rows across lines of string. While some feature the generous scribbles of preschoolers, others reveal the passing thoughts and prevailing feelings held by young visitors. “Today, I am feeling creative because I am surrounded by art,” says one child, their cloak adorned by butterfly wings. “Today, I am feeling in limbo because I just finished my HSC,” says one high schooler, their cloak filled with interlocking lines and loops.
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| Worksheets completed by visitors to the exhibition |
Young, old or somewhere in between, we can all do with an opportunity to pause, learn and reflect on our raw emotions and the feelings that arise from them. Thanks to Golightly, we’re better equipped to do so.
To wear your heart on your sleeve is a free exhibition showing at Liverpool Powerhouse from Saturday 8 November 2025 to Sunday 12 July 2026.
Connect
Lily Golightly: Instagram | Website (Stanley Street Gallery)
Liverpool Powerhouse: Instagram | Facebook | Website