Textiles
660mm high
670mm wide
5mmmm deep
We walked the banks of the Pambula River at Severs Beach, beside shell middens thousands of years old, near the end of our Sharing Stories program visit. It struck me that this place is ontinuously cared for, and has sustained people for millennia. The midden is built from successive strata of shell, each laid down over generations. I photographed close-ups of clam, oyster and mussel shells, and long views of the ocean that sustains them. Each quilted panel is pieced from this mosaic of shell and ocean colours. The blocked design evokes real estate grid lots, setting settler individual land ownership against collective custodianship. Quilting is a radical textile tradition: women made safety and security, yet were also complicit in the colonial project. These works offer grace and respect for country, alongside a critique of settler-colonial land use.
Please note, this artwork is currently on exhibition at Belconnen Arts Centre and will not be available for pick-up or delivery until the exhibition has closed. Please check the Belco Arts website for exhibition dates.
660mm high
670mm wide
5mmmm deep
We walked the banks of the Pambula River at Severs Beach, beside shell middens thousands of years old, near the end of our Sharing Stories program visit. It struck me that this place is ontinuously cared for, and has sustained people for millennia. The midden is built from successive strata of shell, each laid down over generations. I photographed close-ups of clam, oyster and mussel shells, and long views of the ocean that sustains them. Each quilted panel is pieced from this mosaic of shell and ocean colours. The blocked design evokes real estate grid lots, setting settler individual land ownership against collective custodianship. Quilting is a radical textile tradition: women made safety and security, yet were also complicit in the colonial project. These works offer grace and respect for country, alongside a critique of settler-colonial land use.
Please note, this artwork is currently on exhibition at Belconnen Arts Centre and will not be available for pick-up or delivery until the exhibition has closed. Please check the Belco Arts website for exhibition dates.