By Kaz Thorpe, Arts Writer
Textiles hold a common place in our lives – from the clothes we wear to the functional items we use in our homes.
Humanity has had an enduring relationship with textiles from the discovery of flax fibres more than 34,000 years ago. Textile art generally refers to textile-based objects that have no intended use.
Textiles have often been diminished as woman’s craft, but contemporary artists are merging tradition and innovation to elevate the status of textile art in Australia and overseas.
Did you know our own town of Warwick and the Darling Downs is a creative hub for textile art? Currently, at the Warwick Art Gallery, the Darling Downs Textile Artists Group is exhibiting their “Musicale”.
The nostalgic exhibition has been inspired by the Pianola and its paper rolls which bought music into the homes of families in the last centuries.
Members of the group have used the playfulness of music, in conjunction with paper music rolls, fibres and mixed media approaches to present their interpretations of the theme.
Works in this enjoyable display range from wall hangings, wearable art to sculptures. The exhibition skilfully articulates the versatility of fibre as an art medium.
The exhibition begn last week and runs until 21 August.
Another group of artists that push textiles to the limit and beyond is the Warwick Textile Creatives, who are part of the Warwick Artists Group in Willi St, Warwick.
Lead by the hugely talented, hyper-enthusiastic and Warwick’s whirlpool of energy, Dorothy Devine, the group supports each other well beyond the fabric and “brings the collective brain together”.
Dorothy believes “we are all born creative but often that creativity is knocked out of us by criticism”.
“We regain creativity when there is no fear of censure,” she said.
Members said they love the visual, tactile, colourful, textural, movement, dimensionality and patterned nature of fabrics as an art form.
Members are regular recyclers, upcyclers and re-purposers.
When I interviewed the group, they stated that “they each use their own techniques, but are not governed by those techniques”. They are certainly not textile purists!
The Warwick Textile Creatives is holding an exhibition at the Stanthorpe Gallery from 5 August to 19 September 2021.
The exhibition, “Falling with Wings”, which is based on a Sufi poem, articulates that one only unfolds one’s true potential when all concerns about self-image are released.
