Prize Art Exhibition
LOCATION: Kitchen Heritage Courtyard Gallery, behind the Grand Guest House 313 Argent Street
TITLE: Dehydration
ART FORM: Textile - window / wall hanging
MEDIUM: Wool felt on silk fabric
SIZE/DIMENSIONS: Approx. length 3 metres x width 70cm
CATEGORY: Ebb
DESCRIPTION: The notion of water as life’s precious essence and the inevitable ebb and flow of supply inspired me to create Dehydration. Felt is an ancient textile and samples have been found in tombs dating back 4,000 years. In Mongolia today there are people making felt for their yurt houses and clothing, rug makers in Turkey and Russians making warm, felt boots (valenki) all using the same simple, traditional methods of wetting wool and providing some friction.
The felt technique used for this piece is called “Nuno” felt which was invented in Nimbin Australia by Polly Stirling and Sachiko Kotaka in the late 1980’s. In Japan the word nuno is to weave / woven and the wool fibres are felted onto woven fabric – as the wool travels through the holes in the weave. Materials used – Tissue silk fabric, merino wool, wool yarn.
