Natural Wonders at Barometer Gallery

Sorry for the lapse in blogging over the last few weeks, but I have been all over the place (literally!).  So many posts to write and not enough time.  One post that will be coming up soon will be an overview of my recent workshop 'Experiments in Printing with Mordants and Natural Dyeing" that I taught for Fibre Forum at Geelong.....stay tuned.....I then had to deliver work for the 'Artisans in the Gardens' exhibition at the Sydney Botanic Gardens, as well as complete my mini-residency at Playing Field Studios which I have posted below.
So.......I'm now in Sydney at Barometer Gallery with my exhibition 'Natural Wonders', which explores the hidden beauty and history of Canberra at the time of settlement through to today.  It opens tonight at 6pm and runs till 9 November.  For more information click here.

 

 

 

Natural Wonders at Barometer Gallery, Paddington

This morning in the gallery I gave an impromptu artist talk to students who were on a tour with Isobel from ArtLib, so it was great to talk about Canberra's history and the reason I chose the two sites I did for collecting plants for my naturally-dyed textiles and paper. In fact it was quite a pertinent conversation, given that the ACT Government wants to expand its transport infrastructure by installing light rail, and there is a lot of opposition in the media about it.  Looking at the early contour map of Canberra that I have embroidered into the tablecloth (above) I recounted to the students that in Canberra's early planning stages Walter Burley Griffin had envisaged a city of around 22,000 people and had drawn up plans for this expansion that included green corridors, parks and the city.  However, the Councillors at that time pooh-poohed this number of inhabitants....and made him redraw the plans to suit a city of only 16,000 or so....! They could not think far enough ahead into the future to see that Canberra would prosper and grow.  What on earth would they think now with a city with over 360,000 inhabitants and growing? Can Canberrans think further than next year or the year after to envisage a city -a vibrant capital city - of over half a million????  Get rid of the Canberra cringe folks and plan for the future.
Now I'm off my soapbox, here's another installation shot of the work in situ:

 

 

 

 

'Mapping' and 'No Man's Land', naturally dyed textiles

I will be minding the exhibition for the next couple of weeks, so if you are coming to Sydney to visit Sculpture by the Sea, Paddington is not too far away.  Do pop in and visit.  Check the gallery website for opening times, but feel free to contact me outside of gallery hours...I am more than happy to open up for you if I am nearby.
Cheers
Julie