A Crafted History: People & Place

29 Oct 2015 - 13 Jan 2016, ArtSpace Realm, Ringwood
Curated by Lisa Byrne and Jane O'Neill

A Crafted History: People and Place, was commissioned by Maroondah Council to open the new ArtSpace Realm Gallery in Ringwood. Five contemporary women artists, Penelope Aitken, Anna Farago, Siri Hayes, Elvis Richardson, Sophie Xeros-Constantinides, collaborated with local community groups over the previous twelve months to craft artworks that explored the history and stories of Ringwood and the City of Maroondah more broadly. The exhibition demonstrated a layered process, where a community revealed itself through the crafted lens of the contemporary artists. For the artists, the influence of the community has extended their own artistic endeavours. Working together already on environmental restoration projects, three of the artists in A Crafted History, Penelope Aitken, Anna Farago and Siri Hayes, went on to form Paradoxa Collective.

Image credit: Andy Drewitt
Image credit: Andy Drewitt
Image credit: Andy Drewitt
Image credit: Andy Drewitt
Image credit: Andy Drewitt
Image credit: Andy Drewitt
Image credit: Andy Drewitt
Image credit: Andy Drewitt
Image credit: Andy Drewitt
Image credit: Andy Drewitt
Image credit: Andy Drewitt

Works made by Paradoxa Collective artists

1. Anna Farago, Stitching Time, 2015,

Stitching forms a key part of Anna Farago’s practice – it was a skill she learnt as a child. She now maintains a practice of both making quilts and integrating aspects of quilt making into her work as a contemporary artist. In doing so, she reclaims something ‘marginalised via criteria such as women’s art, textile art and crafts’ and offers a new perspective on its relevance within a contemporary art context. The artist has worked closely with members of Maroondah Handicrafts Inc to create the embroidered quilt. Over time, groups have attended sewing circles with the artist - opportunities to sit and create together, demonstrating the kinds of connective glue that crafting in a community provides. More information about this project is available here >.

2. Siri Hayes, Melbourne Rudolf Steiner School Colour Spectrum, 2015, botanically dyed woollen tops, 1 x 1.2m and 3 x 60cm diameter circular weavings

Also harnessing the natural palette of the local area Siri Hayes, created weavings in collaboration with the local Melbourne Rudolf Steiner School with woollen tops coloured by plants collected from the school grounds. Working on looms dictated by the nominated colour for each year level classroom by Rudolf Steiner, Hayes explored the possibility of creative production with children. These works demonstrate a materiality whose ability to nurture and comfort stretches well beyond our visual comprehension of the objects. They emulate the German saying of ‘art needs to be enjoyed by more than the eye.’

3. Penelope Aitken, Ephemeral Everlasting, 2015, installation, oil paint, plant ink and cotton thread on wood and paper, wool pom poms, approx. 600 x 150 cm

Penelope Aitken has honed her focus upon an endangered species in Maroondah – the Swamp Everlasting (Xerochrysum palustre) flower. Working with botanist Dr Graeme Lorimer and the Friends of Bungalook Conservation Reserves, Aitken has traversed new ground and engaged with the wealth of indigenous plant species found at the Bungalook Creek Reserve. Aitken demonstrates the way research relating to other fields can inform creative elaborations of environmental concern. More information about this project is available here >.