Sensorial Loop: 1st Tamworth Textile Triennial 2011

Sensorial Loop: 1st Tamworth Textile Triennial opened at Tamworth Regional Gallery on Saturday, October 1. I've been a bit slow getting these photos uploaded as I've been studying and had assignments due, and also planning for a trip to China at the end of October. As usual, I've just taken snapshots, so quality is not great, nor have I focused on individual works. An excellent catalogue has been produced which has images of every artist's work. The curator is Patrick Snelling, who was the winner of the Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award earlier this year. The exhibition continues at Tamworth until November 26, then tours for two years.

This photo shows the middle of the gallery. The dress is by Martha McDonald, The Weeping Dress. It was used in a performance piece, and the video is displayed with the dress. The fabric pieces on the left are Verity Prideaux's A Legacy of Day. The panels behind the dress are Elisa Markes-Young's The Strange Quiet of Things Misplaced #37.

The works on the plinths in the foreground are by Julie Montgarrett, Circumstance. Going Bush: Beardo by Sera Waters is on the back wall on the right.

Different views of the same works, and with my work, Silence, in the corner on the right. I wanted it to be seen from across the gallery because up close it's more difficult to see. The plinth is 176cm high, so not everyone is able to see the figures or the textile up close.

On the wall on the right is Interlaced Manuscript 3 by Carly Scoufos.

I think all the works on the wall on the left are by Meredith Hughes (Image Portal), the piece in the middle is Jennifer Robertson's The Making of a Slow Journey. The red piece is hemispheres: drawn to you, still by Michele Elliot.



The hanging work is Would you like some cake? by Tania Spencer. Anton Veenstra's Sailor Boy (and another work) is in the middle, and Family Portrait (Friday) by Demelza Sherwood is on the right.


Demelza's work again, Cresside Collette's Twenty Four Evocations of the Wet/Dry Landscape, and The Dusting Cloth by Belinda Von Mengersen.


Another view of The Dusting Cloth, then Cecilia Heffer's Contemporary Lace - An Aerial Landscape Suite.

Framework by Esther Paleologos is the hanging work on the left. Brook Morgan's Untitled is in the middle, and Paula do Prado's Almas Gemelas/Twin Souls is hanging on the right.


Paula's work again, then Alana Clifton-Cunningham's Second Glance, and I am part of a living city by Michelle Harmer.

This last work is Lucy Irvine's The Traveller.


I haven't had professional shots of my work taken as the plinth was made for the work by the gallery, and I didn't see it complete until I went to the opening. My not-very-good shot is below. A better photo is at the end of the post.


A close-up shot of the textile which is over the top of the work.

The opening weekend included a number of artist's talks. These photos aren't in chronological order. The first is Tania Spencer.

Two shots of me giving my talk.


Elisa Markes-Young

Demelza Sherwood

Carly Scoufos

Brook Morgan

Belinda Von Mengersen

Anton Veenstra

Alana Clifton-Cunningham


Elisa's partner Christopher Young is a photographer, and he took some infinitely better photos of the show and the artists' talks. The photo of me is from this post of his blog The Zebra-Factory.


This photo of Silence is from this post.


Christopher has also given more thoughtful remarks about the works in the show. Here is his description of my work:

"Rodney Love's work - a collection of figures shrouded by a cloth - was installed on top of a plinth which approximated his own height. This made the viewing of the work in close proximity obviously very difficult but nonetheless invited effort and curiosity from viewers. He was rather dismissive of his personal reasoning behind this particular work in his artist talk and statement with his rationale being that the ambiguity in the work should encourage narrative development (or access) on behalf of the viewer. That said, there were many conflicts in the work that I found interesting and that require addressing.

"The major one being that the figures are chaotically arranged under the shroud yet the shroud itself is refined and beautifully made. The later aspect appears then ritualistic rather than a simple, respectful covering of the recently (and seemingly randomly collected) deceased. The dead are ceremonially arranged symmetrically in most cultures - ie. graves are set in grids - so I'm not sure about the chaos in the work. Ultimately, it reminded of a key work from Walker Evans and how aspects of that work overlap with ideas explored here. That is, without it's caption but within context (together with FSA photographs of depression-era America), it's ambiguity could prove problematic."

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.

Hate and Envy and Crime and Darkness and Pain 2

I've got three posts (here and here) about the exhibition Hate and Envy and Crime and Darkness and Pain which I had in 2007 at Kudos Gallery. I thought it'd be better to spread them out rather than have them all in one post. All three posts are starting with these four shots of the overall exhibition:





I had these five hair boxes at the front entrance, in lieu of the title of the exhibition.



Here is a series of light globe sculptures. The hanging works are Comfortably Numb. The work on the right is Visions of the Apocalypse. The piece in front is Life Be In It, and the one at the back is Untitled (Life Be In It II).





Three grid works - top left is Hate and Envy and Crime and Darkness and Pain, on the right is Walking Among the Fires of Hell, Delighted With the Enjoyments of Genius, Which to Angels Look Like Torment and Insanity, and bottom left is The Stepford Wives.

Wire doll works - from left to right, Fall of the Rebel Angels, The Part That Wants Beauty to Suffer (a title I've used for another work in the past - and this work, when it was covered in chicken skin, was known as The Man Who Eats Meat Cannot Sneer at the Butcher), and Weltschmerz.





Some small sculptural works: The drawing pin cup is Tea and Sympathy, the shoe is Happily Ever After, and the ceramic eggs are Population Explosion.






This floor work is made from burnt light tubes. It's called the Dan Flavin I'd Like To See.