Textile Week

TEXTILE WEEK

1-7 MAY 2016, CANBERRA

See shows, engage in conversations, join a workshop, hear an artist talk, come to the symposium and exhibition openings.

Ailan Buumer and Ghostnets +Drawing and Design Workshop, Erub Arts; Covet 2, Networks Australia; Here and There, Julie Ryder, Sharon Peoples and Barbara Rogers; Remember When....Canberra Region Feltmakers; Connect with Your Nature, Ruth Hingston and Jodie Hatcher; 2nd Tamworth Textile Triennale and Symposium; Alchemy, Tara Bromham and Emilie Patteson; Cardif Collective; Department of the Exterior; Agency; Assemblage Project, fashion……..and much more.

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 https://www.facebook.com/anutextilesworkshop/

AILAN BUUMER

Erub Arts  

Exhibition 6 - 28 May 2016

Reception 6pm Thursday 5 May

Location Main Gallery, ANU School of Art

To be opened by Dr Mathew Trinca, Director of the National Museum of Australia

An exhibition of drawings, design, fabric and fashion by artists from Erub Arts, Erub (Darnley Island) Torres Strait.

Maryann Bourne

Ethel Charlie

Rachel Emma Gela

Florence Gutchen

Kapua George Gutchen (Snr)

Lavinia Ketchell

Lorenzo Ketchell

Nancy Kiwat

Racy Oui-Pitt

Ellarose Savage

Jimmy Kenny Thaiday

Online catalogue 

Workshop: 10-12 noon and 2-3pm Friday 6 May in SOA Gallery. Engage with the artists, Florence Gutchen and Jimmy Kenny Thaiday, in drawing, design and ghostnet activities. Free – no booking required.

Artforum: Floortalk in the SOA Gallery 1-2pm Friday 6 May.

Covet by Jeanne Klovdahl

Covet

According to the definition given in the Macquarie Dictionary the word 'covet' is 'to desire wrongfully,' or 'to wish for, esp.  eagerly.' From my perspective it is a longing for that which we believe we want. It is usually beyond our grasp and we know we can't, or shouldn't, have it. We think if only…then our lives would be complete - maybe even perfect. While striving for this illusive quarry we might develop an attachment to:

Winning a prize/medal/award through which we receive approval from others, including wide acclaim. If we long for material accoutrements to impress others our emphasis could be placed on outward appearances, thus enhancing our self image. We may admire another person to such an extent that we dream if we could have what they have or do what they can do we might become more like that person, i.e., a person we seek to emulate.

The irony of actually fulfilling our desire is that we might find ourselves asking, "well, what's next?" and then realising that maybe nothing's next, except possibly more striving. How do we know when we've 'arrived?' Everything in life has an upside and a downside: everything.

My main experience in coveting was when I actually took something I desired but felt I couldn't earn. Then I had to hide it away, and eventually admit to what I had done, sheepishly return it and humbly apologise. To make matters worse I kept running into that person, bringing the memory of my treacherous deed right back again!


Jeanne Klovdahl

17th April 2016

Covet by Jill Sutton

Why do you think a group called ‘Networks’ would choose to mount an exhibition called ‘Covet’? 

Are its members all longing to have houses like their neighbours or even lusting after their neighbours’ partners? My only experience of the word ‘covet’ comes from the Ten Commandments which I learned as a child. At that time I knew it was a bad thing to ‘covet’ but I didn’t know about jealousy or lust. These days I am deeply familiar with the potential of these powerful emotions but have rarely revisited the word ‘covet’ when recalling their role in my story.

With many of us only connecting the word with ancient Hebrew scriptures, perhaps ‘Networks’ is seeking to stir something archaic, even elemental. Perhaps it is urging us to explore that deep internal longing for things we should not have. But why would they do this? 

All we can do is to hazard a guess, but sometimes it is a luxury to be allowed to guess. So let’s take up the challenge and think a little more about a group of artists who have called themselves ‘Networks’. It’s easy to see how such a title might appeal to the international group of fibre artists which it has attracted. The very basis of their work must be their delight in the capacity of their sinuous materials to make links between otherwise separated points. A ‘network’ must often be the outcome of the work of a fibre artist and indeed I recall a beautiful piece by Nancy Tingey which comprised what looked like a big fishing net. Nancy was one of the group’s original members and that piece made me glad because I too have loved such nets. Having being partnered by a woman with deep connections to Castellorizo, a Greek fishing island, I learned of the islanders’ dependence on nets and their care. Fishing nets in the sun are one of my lasting memories of a visit to that island. Their intricate patterns suggest a timeless poetry and a resilience which is both cleansing and reassuring. 

But networks are, when you start to think about them, ubiquitous. They have been evoked to describe neurological systems, transport systems, electrical systems, social systems and even solar systems. And that’s it, isn’t it? They describe the way the parts of a whole can connect or interact… they hold the whole show together, whatever the system! 

And this is where the idea of ‘covet’ is a clever challenge to an organisation called ‘Networks’, because, if you covet something, a neighbour’s house or partner or even just an extra chocolate which doesn’t belong to you, you threaten the system! You reach outside the network. You might even break its delicate structure. 

Nevertheless, I still find the act of coveting to be inevitably part of our emotional lives, and I think that it is healthy and stimulating to think about where our coveting takes us. This is what Networks’ ‘Covet’ exhibition does. Artists suggest to us how they dream of lives not their own, how they long for something they can recall having seen through a flywire screen, across a large ocean, a better life for poor refugees, a more secure religious belief… and so the list goes on. 

Recently, after a visit to Coogee beach, I was moved to become aware of my own longings… I wrote:

Like honey on a sore throat
Waves are soothing the rocks of Coogee
Letting go to gather strength
They sigh and lunge
With our longings for the world. 

I suspect that we cannot be totally described by our networks. Our longings give shading and depth to the landscapes we work in. I am glad ‘Networks’ decided to explore their impulses to covet in this exhibition.
Jill Sutton, 2016

Exhibition Opportunity

 Exhibition Opportunity   

Call for Submissions now Open 

From Friday, April 1, 2016.

DEADLINE: Saturday, April 30, 2016 at 12:00 Midnight.

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Three Options for Submitting

Body of Work – Maximum 10 pieces + details.
Individual Pieces – Maximum 10 pieces + details.
Installations – Maximum 10 pieces + details and renderings.

Link for more information