The humble piggybank and motherly advice to "always keep receipts" inspired CDU Visual Arts student Jo Green's third year work.
Entitled "Pigs Might Fly", Jo has produced a series of 3D papier-mache sculptures of larger-than-life piggybanks with wings.
Each sculpture is built on a balloon overlayed with hundreds of receipts and shopping lists. The wings, snout, legs and tail are made from moulding clay and the entire piece is coated with resin for a porcelain-like finish.
The piggybank was a universal symbol for saving money in tough economic times, Jo said.
"The weekly grocery bill always ensures that some of our hard-earned cash literally flies through our hands at the checkout every week.
"The pig's eyes, made from $2 coins, represent society's greed and lust for money."
Jo said that while she was good at drawing at school, she never considered studying it further.
"I did a four-year apprenticeship with a local design company and it was there that I got into visual art and design."
She enrolled in a Bachelor of Visual Arts at CDU and began studying digital media.
"I was inspired by my lecturers to try sculpture and found I really enjoyed it because it was something I could do with my hands.”
Jo said she found her lecturers knowledgeable and supportive.