Category: Textiles
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For the love of trees
New Zealand Aotearoa (for those of you who do not know how to pronounce it try Ow-tay-ah-raw-ah) is famous for its amazing scenery, and here in the South Island on the West Coast there is lush forest and dense jungly growth. This cloak of green has come about because of the high rainfall in the…
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Harata Rewiri Tarapata
This woven portrait of Harata Rewiri Tarapata is derived from a painting by Vera Cummings, a version of which is in the National Collection at Te Papa. Harata Rewiri Tarapata is a significant figure in Maori history, as you can read on the link above. The painter, Goldie, Vera Cummings’ teacher, also painted her portrait.…
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The Nature of Textiles talk
The Nature of Textiles exhibition has ended with a talk on Friday. Twenty people attended the hour-long conversation about the show. The chat ranged over the materials used in the pieces on show, the history of some of the articles, and why they were added to the collection. There were some interesting questions along the…
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The history of a camouflage
A few weeks ago a suit made of camouflage was bought for the studio collection. It was made in Vietnam by a tailor and is a loose-fitting, semi-formal jacket and trousers. In many parts of the world, camouflage is used for stalking, hunting, bird-spotting, animal counts… but in Zimbabwe the cloth has a troubling history…
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Appropriation or appreciation – who makes the decisions?
The artist, Yinka Shonibare, has long employed art to explore and expose colonial attitudes, using cloth that originated in the Dutch colonies and that are now associated with Africa, to highlight the role of the textile industry in world trading relationships. It is a clear example of cultural appropriation. But sometimes the lines are blurry.…
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The amazing coelacanth
This week, the Royal Society of South Africa (RSSAf) held an online talk about coelacanths, the ancient fish that still live in the ocean. This fascinating creature has been the subject of myth ever since it came to the science world’s attention in 1939. Named after the finder of this first animal, and the river…
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Fantastic cardigans, Oz style
Just across the water something rather marvellous has been going on that those of us who like knitwear might just have fallen in love with. WAH-WAH Australia is a fabulous label that creates wearable art from music designs but that is not all. The designer, Kaylene Milner, works with bands to make outfits for stage…
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Appropriation or appreciation – introduction
When does appreciation turn into some else? What makes using something “appropriation” and what doesn’t? What is “appropriation” anyway? This week sees the first entry in a series of articles in which I will be looking at the topic and opening up a discussion. Readers are welcome to join in the debate by commenting on…
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June Black
A new painting has entered the collection. Its creator was a fascinating and eccentric artist with a refined taste for fine fabrics and costume. June Black loved clothes and fashion, wrote about them and created new ways to think about them. In her journal writings the artist entered thoughts about materials and clothing, and, having…
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Guided tour of The Nature of Textiles
This coming week is the last chance to see The Nature of Textiles, the show curated with pieces from the textile collection. On Friday 20th at 10am there will be a guided tour of the exhibition during which we will look at the history of the items and how and why they came to be…