Textile Artist
This has been an exciting project to be a part of in that it offers an opportunity to collaborate with the work of another artist. In the first instance there are the photographs of Reece Scannell which have been translated into a screen print, and then given to the artists to translate in their own way. I have viewed my contribution as a collaboration wishing to maintain the integrity of the original work whilst also somehow adding my translation to the piece, by working in a manner which is part of my modus operandi.
I was born in the Netherlands but have lived most of my life in Australia and small parts of my life in France.
My quilts are a product of a lifelong engagement with textiles, the mobility of the stitch, the interaction of colour created by dyeing and printing, and the creation of stories. As a small child I built constructions that were stitched and embroidered and this love of embroidery continued through my teenage and adult years. I have a Masters degree from Charles Sturt University, NSW which has pushed me to examine the textile surface in a more immediate way, not simply as a vehicle for imagery, but a return to the touch and textuality of textiles, its intimacy and its narrative content.
All the fabrics in my work are hand dyed, and I employ simple printing techniques to create original one-off fabrics used in my work. I love simple resist techniques such as folding and tying, having fallen in love with the indigo cloth of West Africa. I tend to work in fairly simple colour contrasts though the cloth I use is often complex in the colours they contain. Stitching both by machine and hand are important elements, as is the creation of texture.Pattern and repeats are also an element of my work.
In the past 15 years I have been curating travelling exhibitions, that have travelled mostly to Europe and the Middle East. My travels have opened up a whole new world of textiles- the Middle East was a treasure trove of textiles made by hand in time honoured ways- they were stunning. The experience has also seen the emergence of the Sentinelle series- whereby I can use my European background as inspiration for expressing my concerns for the future- where I can combine the rich tradition of pattern and decoration and stitch with my love of byzantine icons and nature.
