Various artists: Connection Point - Contemporary established fibre textile artists of the ACT and NSW. Various artists: Signatures. Canberra Museum and Gallery (CMAG) Until June 18, 2022. cmag.com.au.
The main characteristic that paradoxically links all these fibre textile artists from the ACT and NSW is the very diversity of their practice. These artists are not afraid to tackle the big themes of contemporary life. The large exhibition at Canberra Museum and Gallery brings together work by fibre textile artists in the Gallery's own collection, selected work by other Canberra artists, plus the travelling exhibition Signatures by "untethered fibre artists inc." of NSW.
The exhibition opens with a flourish with Dr Aunty Matilda House's possum skin cloak that she wore to the opening of Parliament in 2010 - a reminder that textile and fibre art in Australia has a long cultural history.
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Lyn Inall's quilt Essence of Place was made in 1995 from men's suiting and evokes the Wagga blankets of the Depression years in Australia but is also relevant to our contemporary interest in recycling. Nancy Tingey's work Back to the Fold (1996) is a long unfolding felted roll of grey Herdwick wool from England melding into white Australian Merino wool and is a tangible symbolic sign of the migrant experience of displacement that is still relevant today.
Sally Blake's Dye Diary is a more recent work made up of painstakingly researched samples of the range of dyes extracted from eucalypts and signals a characteristic practice of many contemporary fibre artists in Australia who use native flora to produce local dyes for their work.
The richness of colour and sculptural form that can be achieved in textile art is beautifully encapsulated by Keiko Amenomori-Schmeisser's two 2018 wall hangings Rising Gold and Nightfall. The artist is a master of the Japanese art form of shibori - a method of tying and dying fabric. These works are beautiful examples of its possibilities in the hands of an expert. I was moved by the experience of seeing these works again.

Among the artists in the "untethered fibre artist inc." group, diversity is also the key.
The clever installation by Pam de Groot, Hard wired, in colourful felted wool plays with the psychological state of being hard wired into unhelpful paths of action.
In Cardiacus, Catherine Lees uses colour and texture to express the unique signature of our heart rhythm in a delicate work featuring thread and hand embroidery. In Skinned, Jennifer Florey uses hand stitching to delineate the forms of her gorgeous and voluptuous nudes lolling in sensuous abandon.
Kirry Toose's concept of the body is closely aligned with her sense of self as she seeks to reveal yet conceal it beneath the folds of her two dramatic costumes Null & Void and Comfort and Circumstance.
Two works refer back to nature. Judith Wilson in The Gardener (a touching memorial to her father) makes a delicate wall hanging made of paper yarn hand spun from mulberry paper that looks like old lace.
Every twisted part of this paper fringe contains the Latin name of native Australian flora.
Helen MacRitchie's wall sculpture Boosting Defences is one of those works that remains in the memory.
It is an impressive example of the artist's ability to master many of the technical skills of textile and fibre art.
The work, based on a human cell, relates to the traditional healing power of the Elder tree. It emanates a dark greenness with a soft glow radiating from its central core. The soft velvety texture invites a tender touch but its core is surrounded by a wall of woven protection. Its beauty and its sense of medieval alchemy capture the imagination.
And, like this work, the Connection Point exhibition is one to savour and enjoy.