Hazel MacKinnon graduated from The North Adelaide school of Arts majoring in Sculpture. Her graduating exhibition was a sell out featuring her Splash Series, a collection of full bodied swimmers. The prestigious BMG Gallery approached her to exhibit with similar success.

She moved back to Sydney and started a sculpture business, wanting to bring her art into the homes of everyday Australians.

Inspired by her background as a competitive swimmer and a stint as a lifesaver at Bondi, she created the Bondi Merribabes, a collection of mermaids. They were popular instantly.

The Australian media has been generous to Hazel and her art. A spread in the Sydney Morning Herald and also being interviewed on Good Morning Australia twice by Bert Newton served to promote her sculptures. One of the sculptures graced the set for several months.

Hazel found herself supplying twelve upmarket Galleries and Hotels.

At the height of her success Hazel took a step in a totally different direction.

Loving adventure, she accompanied her new partner Bob Randall, Traditional owner of Uluru to his homeland, an Aboriginal community at the base of Uluru.

During her seven eventful years living in Mutitjulu, The Stories of the Stolen Generation sculptures were born.

 

Through this sculpture collection Hazel and Bob told the stories of suffering and survival unknown to most Australians at that time.

They travelled with the collection of figures throughout Australia.

Hazel eventually left Uluru and found herself living in Cairns then in a shack in the rainforest.

She is now home in South Australia, near family in the Barossa Valley region with the support of Alby Di Palma.

In 2024 Hazel worked on a series of sculptures for the Brighton Jetty Exhibition.

Through continual experiment she has come up with innovative new ways to capture the spirit of the sea, something which has fascinated her all of her life. The new collection is called Sea Spray.