Held on the 19th Feb 2024
at 5pm to
7pm
, Northern Tasmania
Inveresk Library - 216
Summary:A collaboration between Sawtooth Gallery Launceston and the University of Tasmania’s Library and Cultural Collections as a means of artistic exploration and exchange
This temporary exhibit is a collaboration between Sawtooth Gallery Launceston and the University of Tasmania’s Library and Cultural Collections as a means of artistic exploration and exchange. Artists are invited to respond to the curatorial exploration of ‘ways of knowing’. The invited artists are curated by Zara Sully.
Introduced by Caine Chennatt (Director, Curatorial and Cultural Collections, UTAS), this event is part of a curatorial collaboration between the University of Tasmania and Sawtooth Gallery, Inveresk.
Over the course of a year, Sawtooth curates two object display vitrines through commissioning new work by artists across the country, responding to the multi-year curatorial framework Ways of Knowing.
About the artists
NICOLE O'LOUCHLIN
Domestic Silence
Domestic Silence transforms discarded domestic fabrics into political objects that address the silence surrounding gendered violence. Doilies are placed out of context onto a boxing bag, cast off upholstered boxing gloves sit on the floor and an Irish linen tea towel has drawn thread and stitching to reiterate the message. At the time of writing this statement 49 women have been murdered at the hands of partners or ex partners in 2023. The work speaks to this catastrophic situation that goes mostly unreported or misreported in the media.
Using textiles interweaves the history of women, it employs a form of making that has long expressed a voice for females, especially when they have not been listened to or allowed to speak. Additionally, the combination of the soft what is termed gentle arts with violence acts as a jolt to the senses. The work deals with the prevalent and undercurrent dialogue and attitudes that occur around women and girls, as well as the roles and ideals of gendered behaviour and how these attitudes ripple throughout society.
Artist Biography
Nicole O’Loughlin is an interdisciplinary artist who works across various mediums to explore societal issues, pop culture and women’s issues. She works across textiles, painting, drawing and printmaking. Her work reflects the world around her, from tiny microorganisms in print and paints to feminist, political and social commentary in textiles. Using traditional media in a contemporary context, Nicole challenges the idea of craft and pushes back against the industrialisation of the handmade. Her variety of skills shapes her work, interweaving various elements to allow for a dynamic and shifting arts practice.
Nicole’s work is part of national, state, and private collections, including the Australian Parliament House Art Collection, Textile Art Museum Australia and the Tasmanian State Collection. She has participated in residencies in Argentina, China and on the isolated wind-swept Maatsuyker Island. Her work has been included in significant national art prizes receiving highly commended in the Lester Prize, Paul Guest prize people’s choice and the Hadley’s packers’ award.
MAE FINLAYSON
Crafty Craft
This artwork delves into the hidden significance of typically dismissed pastimes like hobby crafting and domestic crafts. It explores the subconscious implications that emerge during the repetitive act of creation, particularly in double-sided embroidery. By showcasing dual surfaces, mirroring materials, and bringing craft to the forefront, it prompts an examination of its depth. The piece embodies dual meanings, representing both conscious and subconscious elements—a duality akin to a calm surface concealing frantic activity underneath.
Artist Biography
Mae Finlayson is a visual artist living in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia. She makes soft sculpture, embroidery, fabric prints and collage with a hand made aesthetic blending ordinary materials in unusual ways. Mae’s work is playful and experimental, testing the limits of textiles by exaggerating and deliberately mis-applying techniques in order to question systems of value and visibility in our relation to domestic objects. Often taking its cue from discarded materials and op-shop finds, Mae considers the motivations behind making - and its abandonment - to recontextualise craft. Mae has had her work featured in group and solo exhibitions in Tasmania and interstate.
She has a BA with 1st class Honours from Goldsmiths College, University of London and a Masters of Constructed Textiles (Mixed Media) from the Royal College of Art, London. While making work for gallery exhibition and outdoor festivals, Mae has worked on many collaborative, community and solo projects often specialising in projects driven by audience participation.
