Hanging out in Geraldton which appears to be quite a nice place. Much bigger than anywhere we have been (other than Perth). However its Easter Sunday and most places are shut except... the art gallery.
We have just enjoyed a really wonderful installation/ art work called
'The Peregrinations of a Citizen Botanist'
by Susie Vickery. To be honest the title nearly put me off but I'm a sucker for galleries so we thought we would have a gander.
Susie Vickery is an extremely talented and clever textile artist. Using embroidery and natural dye techniques to produce stunning artworks which in this case tell the story of the 18th century french chap Jaques-Julien Houton de Labillardiére who came Australia in 1792 on a ship as a Botanist. This is still potentially a bit off putting until you see the work...
Beautifully curated and intregrated automatated textile 'tableaux' (for want of a word) telling the story from a very different perspective.. ie instead of colonisation its more about natualisation... what might have been if Labillardière had really embraced nature.
This little fantastically crafted chappy has an amazing wardrobe of handmade garments ranging from the stuffy ornate clothes he would be expected to wear slowly changingto a more nature inspired look.
The attention to detail right across the whole installation was incredible, intricate embroidery, button detail, hats, shoes and overall presentation just spot on... and there were opportunities to interact with the exhibits ie. the ship was constructed fron a deconstructed pianola. The keys making the wooden sides - some sticking our reminiscent of cannons and the waves and sails were the pianola music sheets. Visitor could sit on a piano stool and pedal the 'pianola' and the waves and the ship would roll...
Later the poor man finds himself bedridden with scurvy before a cure is found.. this little tableau rocks from side to side and almost make you feel seasick... if you zoom in you will see him lying in his hammock looking very sorry for himself.. the clothes hung beside him are exquisitely made using beautiful reclaimed fabrics and some very precise and detailed embroidery.
He recovers and starts to learn and appreciate this wonderful country he is exploring.. his clothes become less ornate with jewels but dyed and decorated with plants from the bush... his mindset changes he embraces nature.. there are references to various bits of 'history' a reoccuring pattern of native plants.. detail alluding to the 'rabbit proof fence' theres a lot to look at.
This is the short version.. its a well thought out wonderful story. The work reminds me a bit of Mr Finch but its not as fantastical... its thought provoking and fun.
Then as if this wasn't enough- upstairs in the rest of the gallery was a quilting/wall hanging exhibition... what more could I ask for.. some more beautiful work from a large variety of artists this one which was about 1000 x 500 cms was my favourite and I would have bought it if it wasn't already sold. It would heve been a lovely memento of this trip.
Loved the look of the installation, so much detail in it. And I can see why you'd have your eye on that quilt! Oh, and while the spider-under-the-glass photo was fine for me please give a warning if your posts contain photos of any non-legged wildlife you might come across (you know how I hate snakes!). It's great to keep up with your adventures in sunnier climes, it's a bit more chilly here right now. Take care, xC
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely love this. I found the catalogue on line which has beautiful drawings and describes the fabrics and dyes used to make the clothing-fabulous.
ReplyDeleteI have the catolague it was given away at the exhibition .. there was also a really interesting short film about the artist and how she did things... incidentally you have commented as anonymous who are you🤣🦘🙂 clair x
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