2019 AU-NZ: Australian Tapestry Workshop return visit March 15

ATW Return Visit: Two wonderful shows!
~ Yolanda Olivotto, yo.olivotto@gmail.com

I was pleased to be able to view two new shows at the ATW on my return visit March 15, 2019 (see BLog post January 21, 2019 regarding first visit).

One of the two shows presented the outcomes of the ATW's 2018 Artist in Residence program (AIR18). The other was from the Piece for Sale program (Treasure Hunt, 2018).

The AIR18 show presented a range of explorations by contemporary artists from a diversity of disciplines (read about the program and show on-line at https://www.austapestry.com.au). Of note for me, as I enjoy the depth of direct discussion achievable through performance works, was Dénouement, by Chloe Bensahel. The outcome of the performance piece hung on a wall in the gallery: a partially un-knit sweater, tethered to a weaving of a punch-card. An abstract of the performance was presented on an adjacent video screen with an alternating sound-track of silence and a pattern of keyboard tapping and a beater packing in weft: silence, keyboard tapping, silence, beater packing in weft, repeat. The artist was methodically unraveling the sweater from the neck, down to create weft, and then moving her body with unraveled sweater strands following her through the open and closed sheds to weave the punch card on a plain cloth. The performance backdrop was a line of  colourful tapestry samplers and small-format works.

For those who are familiar with the history of tapestry and cloth weaving, the theme would be compelling. Regardless, the overarching theme of undisclosed non visible acts and process comes through, whether about immigrants, community or art disciplines. The artist says it is "an ode to all surfaces coded with labor that remains unseen, even when a signed contract, a resolution, a 'knot untied' has been declared."

Other of the AIR18 artists used their disciplines to explore and experience tapestry weaving at the ATW through clay (thread extrusion sculptures, with cloth mono-print in indigo); quilting (an ATW table cloth biography); installation (jelly-fish morph from up-cycled waste); pattern weaving (with anomalies); audio response marks and sketches ("a weave to be sung"); 3-D tapestry (life-cycle of a mother's love using an ATW pallet of colour); machine-knitting (an ATW event portrait scarf); and mixed-media story assemblages (doll parts and built textiles; the weavers' body parts on the bench; and others). In short, fantastic!

Treasure Hunt, 2018, was designed by Guan Wei and woven by Chris Cochius, Pamela Joyce, Jennifer Sharpe and Cheryl Thornton.

The double-warp sett allowed the weavers to create detail for the exploited treasures on the "map". Double-warp also allows a large-scale tapestry to weave up quickly and still have lozenges of detail to give moments of greater clarity, as in story telling, when moving from situational generality to detail. The base of the design is a line of Explorer-treasure-hunter ships moving in distant clouds. The tapestry design was adapted from a 2006 mural by the designer for an Other Histories project. Again, a fantastic work! 

Having enjoyed the project boards at my January 21 visit, I took a photo of the Treasure Hunt, 2018 project board to share.

The ATW main studio floor was busy with several new pieces on looms. What an amazing, vibrant and inspiring enterprise!