THEY say one man's junk is another man's treasure.

Such is the case for Uki artist Christine Mellor, whose fascination with life and death - and more specifically roadkill - has led her down an unusual path.

Ms Mellor's artwork involves using selected parts of native roadkill, which she arranges as subjects in paintings and as small objects.

"It all started off by following my dream to do something arty when I went to TAFE to study art,” Ms Mellor said.

"When I was there, they made us dig a bit deeper, we had to find something we wanted to talk about. I wanted to talk about life - it's such a huge subject - and I had always been a collector of everything, something I continue to this day.

"The death of animals in roadkill seemed like an accessible way to talk about life and death: if I could work with roadkill, I could talk about it.”

And so began Ms Mellor's obsession with roadkill: from tiny birds to snakes, bats, large kangaroos and everything in between.

"I see roadkill as a metaphor for life and pre-life,” Ms Mellor said.

"It shows these little animals going about their business and then suddenly their life is finished. Our time on this planet is just a 'bling'. We have to make the most of every minute.

"With my artwork, at least I can turn the death of that animal into something beautiful and not so final or pointless. If I find it, I'll put it to good use, with respect.”

To collect the roadkill, which she does with the help of family and friends, Ms Mellor has had to get a licence from the NSW Parks and Wildlife Service, which necessitates she date and specify where each animal is found.

Some fascinating examples of her work include a polystyrene ball wrapped in delicate snake-skin; spiky flowers made from echidna spines and gorgeous, colourful flowers made from the feathers of little birds.

"It shows death can be beautiful,” Ms Mellor said.

"It's nothing to be afraid of. There's a certain fascination we hold within our culture about death, and the still life genre of Memento Mori is a successful means to discuss a number of topics often associated with it - including mortality, the inevitability of death, and the beauty which arises as a result of death.”

Very much a local, Ms Mellor was born in Murwillumbah and spent her childhood with her family in the Chillingham General Store.

Through necessity she had to defer her hopes of studying art and with her husband Garry and children settled in Tyalgum before moving to Uki in 2011.

After 27 years of working together in the construction industry, Christine was able to follow her dream by attending TAFE and later university, completing a Bachelor of Fine Art at the Queensland College of Art. It is now her dream to create work with concepts revolving around the complications, mysteries and pleasures of life and death.

Her latest exhibition, The Bone Repository, will be on display at the Art Post Uki from August 16 until September 27. She will also conduct a "bone” workshop with children of the Uki Primary School, introducing them to the concept of Memento Mori.

Post master Gary Wall, who since buying the old post office a year ago has transformed the old post office since buying it a year agoit into a coffee shop and buzzing hub, said the artwork helped draw locals into the store.

"The other day one of my customers said his daily trip to the store had given him a sense of purpose. It has been the most wonderful thing.”

THE BONE REPOSITORY

• What: Art exhibition and workshops
• Where: Art Post Uki
• When: Aug 16 - Sept 27
• Contact: www.artpostuki.com