Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award 2011 - Exhibition Photos

Finally I've got around to posting my images of the exhibition and the opening day (it's taken a couple of days). A reminder, as always, that these are just snapshots I've taken, and probably no-one's work is well served by them! They are only meant to show the exhibition as a whole, and the juxtapositions of work. Best to contact the gallery to order a copy of the excellent catalogue if you want better images of the works.

The artists in the show are:

Annie Aitken, Isabel Avendano Hazburn, Nicole Barakat, Jennifer Bartholomew, Wanda Bennett, Veronica Cay, Alana Clifton-Cunningham, Cresside Collette, Sujora Conrad, Adrienne Doig, Daniel Edwards, Esmae Emerson, Hilary Green, Tim Gresham, Mandy Gunn, Cecilia Heffer, Gabriella Hegyes, Judy Hooworth, Lucy Irvine, Adrienne Kenafake, Anita Larkin, Rodney Love, Penny Malone, Elisa Markes-Young, Paull McKee, Ian McKinnon, Julie Montgarrett, Brook Morgan, Catherine O'Leary, John Parkes, Flossie Peitsch, Martine Peters, Teresa Poletti Glover, Karen Richards, Jennifer Robertson, Barbara Rogers, Julie Ryder, Nicky Schonkala, Joy Smith, Patrick Snelling, Anton Veenstra, Carmel Wallace

The first thing I noticed when I looked at the catalogue was how many of the names I knew. I realized I'd been in other shows with half of the artists. These shows and these artists:

Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award 2009 - Cresside Collette, Hilary Green, Tim Gresham, Mandy Gunn, Cecilia Heffer, Anita Larkin, Penny Malone, Julie Montgarrett, Julie Ryder, Patrick Snelling

Momentum: The 18th Tamworth Fibre Textile Biennial - Alana Clifton-Cunningham, Hilary Green, Mandy Gunn, Cecilia Heffer, Penny Malone, Elisa Markes-Young

Hands On: Craft in Contemporary Art - Annie Aitken, Anton Veenstra

Re-Frame - Nicole Barakat, Paull McKee

Entanglement - Hilary Green, Brook Morgan,

Landscapes: A Journey Home in Textiles - Brook Morgan

Luggage... Not Baggage - Gabriella Hegyes

Furr - Nicole Barakat

I've put the images in the order you'd see them if you entered the gallery, went to the right, and continued around the exhibition until you get back to the entrance. It was intermittently sunny that day, so occasionally the sun bursts into the photos. This is the view from the gallery door, with Elisa Markes-Young's The Strange Quiet of Things Misplaced #27:


From right to left (all subsequent photos will be R to L as well), Penny Malone's Diptych Melbourne Geometrics, My Tool Set by Joy Smith on the plinth, and Curious Wonder by Martine Peters:


A group shot:


Annie Aitken's Untitled #1, Brook Morgan's Untitled, and Cocoon #10 by Carmel Wallace:


A closer look at Brook's work. Made from protea flowers:


Carmel's work again, Kneecap by Isabel Avendano Hazbun, and genes/jeans by John Parkes:


This is around the corner, the back of the previous wall. Hillary Green's Wonderlust, and two works by Adrienne Doig:


Anita Larkin's Roger, I hear you loud and clear... is just behind the person's head, Ride a Wild Pony by Jennifer Bartholomew, and Ian McKinnon's Cascading Black and Tan:


Bartholomew and McKinnon's works again, and Mandy Gunn's TEXT-ile (The Unconcise Oxford Dictionary):


Mandy's work, and Nicole Barakat's obscured I am singing as I am sewing:


Nicole's work again, hmmm..., I'm not sure... Is this Julie Montagarrett's mise en abyme? No, by process of elimination I've realized it must be Tim Gresham's Liquid Module VI. Weavolution is next, by Nicky Schonkala, and Barbara Rogers' Parallels:


Anton Veenstra's Homage to El Greco Sebastian (Never felt a wound) on the wall, and Lucy Irvine's The Traveller. This was my pick to win. It didn't, but it did get an Honourable Mention:


A full shot of The Traveller, with Judy Hooworth's Black Water behind:


Julie Ryder's Transmorphing, and Pulse by Wanda Bennett. It has LED lighting incorporated into the work, but it doesn't really show up well here:


Wagga - Blue by Paull McKee, Esmae Emerson's Glacier, and Ecocover Panel by Flossie Peitsch:


Another overview. I think Veronica Cay's Sleep Little Babies is on a plinth to the right of Hilary's tapestry:


The Wanderlust is in the vitrine and is by Adrienne Kenafake, Patrick Snelling's winning work 8.9, and Teresa Poletti Glover's Every darkness promises a new dawn on a plinth behind the viewer:


A shot of my work Fence on the plinth behind, and Fences in front. They're all woven with a wire warp, and paper weft. The wire has rusted, staining the paper with random patterns:


A different view. Professional shots are in this post:


Cecillia Heffer's Tide, my works again, The making of a Slow Journey by Jennifer Robertson:


Another shot of that corner:


Sujora Conrad's #5 from Drawings for Field Work, and Wave... by Gabriella Hegyes:


I clearly wasn't paying enough attention at the time - I think this is mise en abyme by Julie Montgarrett on the right. Catherine O'Leary's Heartache is the red and white felt work hanging on the left:


Alana Clifton-Cunningham's Pauldron, and Metallic Sun-Orchids by Karen Richards. I'm not sure what the thread is, but it has picked up the flash. It wasn't as luminous in the flesh:


Back to the entrance. Woven Rhythms by Daniel Edwards, and A Trio of New Horizons by Cresside Collette:


This is gallery director Dianne Mangan opening proceedings:


Judge Valerie Kirk and Award Patron Liz Williamson:


Di introducing Liz:





The opening morning:

Winner of the 2011 Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award

I got back today from Wangaratta (and the surrounding region for a weekend away), and thought I should at least reveal the winner of the Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award for 2011. I have got a lot of photos to upload, but for now I'm happy to say that Patrick Snelling won the (I think) $5,000, acquisitive award for his piece 8.9. The judge was Valerie Kirk. She also selected 4 works for Honourable Mentions - work by Brook Morgan, Lucy Irvine, Elisa Markes-Young, and, Jennifer Bartholomew. I'll add photos of the show in the next few days.

June 6
Here's a picture of Patrick Snelling in front of his winning work:


This is an image of Valerie Kirk, the judge, and Liz Williamson, the Award Patron, in front of Patrick's work:

Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award 2011 Invitation

(The winner is revealed in this post)

The Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award opens this coming Saturday, June 4, from 11:00am. It will be followed by a textile forum with Valerie Kirk, Mandy Gunn and Anthony Camm presenting, then 4 of the exhibiting artists giving floor talks - Lucy Irvine, Ian McKinnon, Catherine O'Leary and Joy Smith. Details below. I'm heading down there for 2 nights, just for a weekend getaway. More details of other exhibitions in the Wangaratta Gallery here. I still haven't seen a list of artists in the exhibition, but I'll update after I've been down at the weekend.

Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award 2011

(The winner is revealed in this post)

The Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award exhibition is coming up, opening on June 4. Two of my works have been accepted for the show. I was also in the inaugural award exhibition two years ago (see this post). This first work is called Fence. It's woven with a galvanised steel wire warp, and a paper weft. The wire was then allowed to rust, staining the paper. The title came because the coils of woven wire reminded me of fences waiting to be rolled out across the landscape.



(Original images here.) Until recent rains and flooding, the dominant discourse about the countryside was the drought that had been causing hardship to farmers across the country. The rusted paper in Fence made me think of abandoned farms, rusted fences, and the brown, dusty soil of drought-affected farms.


(Image by Jason Edwards, available here.)


The other work accepted into the show is called Fences. It is a series of three works similar to Fence, but the paper used for the weft is hand made and includes human hair, plant material, pigments, and spices. The works were all made earlier this year. They are all about 15cm wide, with varying lengths. All are displayed coiled, but there is no set configuration for them.






Forgot to mention that all photos are by Adrian Cook.

Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award Exhibition

I've got more information about the Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award exhibition. All the photos here have been generously provided by Louise Saxton whose Home-tree is the work on the left above. Firstly, here's a list of all the finalists in the show:

Soraya Abidin, Sally Blake, Jayne Branchflower, Annabelle Collett, Cresside Collette, Sue Ferrari, Dianne Firth, Melanie Fitzmaurice, Pamela Fitzsimons, Saffron Lily Gordon, Hilary Green, Tim Gresham, Mandy Gunn, Cecilia Heffer, Abigail Howells, Peta Jones, Adrienne Kneebone, Anita Larkin, Kay Lawrence, Sara Lindsay, Rodney Love, Barbara Macey, Penny Malone, Susan Mathews, Julie Montgarrett, Sabine Parge, Jennifer Robertson, Julie Ryder, Louise Saxton, Demelza Sherwood, Patrick Snelling, Emma Sulzer, Libby Van Schaick, Sera Waters, Ilka White, and Louiseann Zahra-King

As I wrote here, Mandy Gunn was the winner of this inaugural award. Here's her work Fire Sticks from the Burn Out series.


This is the entrance to the show, with Sea life wall pod installation by Penny Malone, and Sara Lindsay's Parampara #2.


This shot has my work Six Degrees: Vida Gaigalas to Bob Hunt on the right, Melanie Fitzmaurice's Explorer's Rope in the middle, and Pamela Fitzsimons' Skin/eucalyptus on the left. I think the work on the floor is Louiseann Zahra-King's A bird readies the soul and moves it to tenderness.


Emma Sulzer's Puma cat (with two other works) is in the foreground, the hanging work is Sue Ferrari's Common Threads, and the wall on the left has Cresside Collette's Two Lands Suite, I think.



From left to right: Julie Ryder's Variations I (Leaves), Cecilia Heffer's Reticella Lace, I think Hilary Green's Tracking South, Annabelle Collett's Swatches - Merge & Filter, and Soraya Abidin's Love Fruit on the plinth.





I think this is Kay Lawrence's This is rain.


This is Anita Larkin's Speak to me of things unknown, and maybe Tim Gresham's Liquid Module IV.



Pretty by Demelza Sherwood:


The work on the left may be Julie Montgarrett's Expository Angel, and RED Stones #1 by Dianne Firth is on the right.


Here are some pages from the catalogue:





Here's an article I found online and linked to from my previous post, but it then disappeared. Fortunately I'd printed it out, and here it is. It's from the Wangaratta Chronicle.