Dr Debbie Symons is a multidisciplinary Australian artist whose practice examines the accelerating impacts of species extinction, environmental change, and global systems on the more‑than‑human world. Working across drawing, installation, video, sound, and research‑driven methodologies, Symons creates artworks that expose the entangled relationships between ecological loss, political economies, and the cultural narratives that shape humanity’s understanding of the natural world.

Symons’ practice is deeply informed by her upbringing on Bunurong Country/Cape Paterson, one of Victoria’s most biodiverse regions. Growing up in a landscape marked by rapid ecological shifts, she witnessed firsthand the disappearance of non‑human species and the fragility of local ecosystems. This early awareness, combined with her Sri Lankan and English heritage, continues to shape her sensitivity to environmental histories, colonial legacies, and the uneven distribution of ecological harm.

Her work begins with scientific data, environmental research, and collaborations with organisations such as the IUCN Red List. By drawing on statistical and ecological datasets, Symons traces the connections between globalisation, consumer culture, and species decline, translating complex environmental information into poetic, affective, and sometimes confronting visual forms. While drawing remains central to her practice, she is widely recognised for her large‑scale video installations, including the internationally exhibited World Species Market (2012), which was presented across 80 screens and highlighted the commodification of endangered species within global markets.

Symons’ installations frequently explore the emotional and sensory dimensions of ecological loss. Works such as 'Sing' and 'The Butterfly Effect' create immersive environments that invite audiences to encounter the vulnerability of non‑human life. 'Sing', developed during the LABVERDE Art Immersion Program in the Amazon Rainforest, features one hundred hand‑woven nests crafted from palm fronds, each containing recorded bird calls gathered during field research. This residency, situated within one of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems, profoundly shaped Symons’ understanding of multispecies interdependence and continues to influence her approach to ecological storytelling.

Her work has been exhibited extensively across Australia and internationally, including in Floating Land (Noosa), The Nature of the Future (Belmont University, Nashville), Beyond Words (Streaming Museum and the World Council of Peoples for the United Nations), and Ocean Imaginaries (RMIT Gallery) as part of ART+CLIMATE=CHANGE 2017. Symons has received numerous awards and recognitions, including Highly Commended in the 2022 Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize, the 2021 Northern Beaches Environmental Art & Design Prize, and the 2014 MARS Gallery Linden Art Prize. She has also been a finalist in the John Fries Award and the Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize.

Symons completed her PhD, Anthropocentrism, Endangered Species, and the Environmental Dilemma, at Monash University with the support of an Australian Postgraduate Scholarship. Her work has been featured in Artlink, VAULT, and international journals, and she has presented at major symposia including Fragile Earth: Extinction at Gippsland Art Gallery and MPavilion MTALKS.