Preamble
For you convenience I have listed another post on this blogspot in this series:
2018 CrossXpollinatioN "Journeys" Exhibition
Introduction
In September 2017, Hal Martin, the then Manager of the Colac Otway Performing Arts & Cultural Centre (COPACC), Colac, Victoria, Australia, invited me to consider submitting a proposal as a Feature Artist for the ‘2018 CrossXpollinatioN’ exhibition titled, ‘Journeys’, at the COPACC Civic Hall, 7th - 29th July 2018 which traditionally featured 3D textile and fiber artworks. Based on COPACC’s criteria I submitted a proposal for my installation concept titled, ‘Timelines: An Environmental Journey’. My proposal included schematic diagrams of the installation, images of the artworks in the installation, installation artist statement as well as individual artwork statements, my CV and biography.
Installation Concept and Techniques
The ‘Timelines: An Environmental Journey’ installation consisted of ten ArtCloth lengths/panels. The concept of ‘Timelines: An Environmental Journey’ is based on a timeline which begins with the Carbonaceous period and ends with Anthropogenic climate change issues. Most of the ten ArtCloth pieces in the installation were created using my pioneering signature technique ‘MultiSperse Dye Sublimation’ (MSDS). In this technique, I employ disperse dyes, native flora and low relief items on synthetic fibers and fabrics.
A Brief Overview of My MSDS Development History and the MSDS Technique
For over twenty years, I have been experimenting and working with hand printing techniques using disperse dyes on synthetic/polyester fabrics. Disperse dyes are a commercial dye type which are light fast, color fast and wash fast and they have been specifically created for synthetic fibers. The dyes are transparent (printing a blue area over a yellow will produce green) and so lend themselves to layering and overprinting to build rich and complex surfaces. A heat press or iron is used to sublimate (transfer) the dye molecules into the fabric fibres. I have been teaching my MSDS technique at international and national conferences/workshops, textile forums, to textile groups and within university courses.
Group photograph of participants and myself on the last day of my five day “Melding Experiences: New Landscapes Using Disperse Dyes and Transfer Printing” workshop, which was organized by the Surface Design Association (SDA) as part of the Confluence Conference post-workshop program. It was held at McNeal Hall on the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, from June 13th - 17th 2011.
From back left to right standing: Sheryl Schwyhart (USA), Dotti Day (USA), Katherine Dunlevey (USA),
Lesley Turner (Canada), Camy Kilmer (USA), Jennifer Fay (USA) and tutor Marie-Therese Wisniowski. From centre left to right standing: Ingrid Lincoln (Canada), Dar Brooks (USA) and Karie Amstutz (workshop assistant) (USA). From front left to right sitting: Barbara Martinson (USA), Liv Samset (Norway) and Helda Klouth (The Netherlands).
The MSDS Technique
The MSDS technique employs disperse dyes and involves hand printing multiple resists and multiple overprinted layers employing numerous color plates, low relief native plant materials and low relief items on synthetic fibres and fabrics. The completed works are rich in color, light, shade, contrast, movement and depth. The multiple layers also imbue a painterly aesthetic and textural, three-dimensional quality to the finished ArtCloth works. Each print is unique and cannot be replicated.
In 2012 Karina van Vught, owner of Zijdelings Atelier in Tilburg, The Netherlands, invited me to give a talk about my art practice and to give a demonstration on my signature ‘MultiSperse Dye Sublimation’ (MSDS) technique. In this photograph you can see me painting my color printing plates with disperse dyes at Zijdelings Atelier.
My MSDS technique has been published in a number of journals and magazines (e.g. Imprint, Print Council of Australia journal, March/Autumn 2013; Embellish magazine, March/Autumn 2012; Down Under Textiles magazine, October 2011; Quilting Arts magazine, September/October 2011).
‘Timelines: An Environmental Journey’ ArtCloth Installation
The following four schematic diagrams were in the submission as part of my proposal as a Feature Artist for the ‘2018 CrossXpollinatioN’ exhibition titled, ‘Journeys’. The diagrams were constructed in order to assist in the curation of my installation.
Schematic diagram one presents a ‘not to scale’ 3D impression of the ‘Timelines: An Environmental Journey’ ArtCloth installation.
Schematic diagram two presents a ‘to scale’ 2D view/positioning of the large hanging ArtCloth works for ‘Timelines: An Environmental Journey’ ArtCloth installation.
Schematic diagram three presents a ‘to scale’ 2D view/positioning of the smaller hanging ArtCloth works on the back wall for the ‘Timelines: An Environmental Journey’ ArtCloth installation.
Schematic diagram four presents a ‘to scale’ aerial view and spacing of all of the ArtCloth works for the ‘Timelines: An Environmental Journey’ ArtCloth installation.
Artist Statement and Explanation of the Installation
My environmental art utilizes man-made dyes (disperse dyes) and fibers (synthetics) in order to make a statement that is consistent and non-contradictory, namely: as the human population accelerates towards 9 billion by the year 2050 the de-forestation and de-habitation due to human needs must be contained and sustainable in order that flora and fauna - that we do not consume - can coexist with us on this planet.
The exhibition opens up with the ArtCloth work, “Timelines”, which maps an evolutionary journey due to the “Great Permian Extinction”. The trilobites could not survive this natural disaster because of the impact of climate change. However, such a change created a new species - the sea horse - as evident after the extinction timeline in the work.
The diptych, “Sequestration of CO2” depicts climate change due to the rise of flora during the carbonaceous period – a period that altered the Earth’s atmosphere to become oxygen rich rather than adopting the Venusian climate, which is carbon rich and so cannot support flora and fauna.
After the carbonaceous period, Australia’s evolutionary flora story is mapped by the ArtCloth diptych, “Gondwana”. It was from the relictual forests (rainforest remnants of Gondwana) that the Australian flora evolved with its uniquely colored and high concentration of primitive plant species.
With the arrival of the Aborigines in Australia approximately 50,000 to 60,000 years ago, fire management of the native flora began. Australia’s flora adapted to changed circumstances. With the arrival of the British in Australia de-forestation was systematically planned in order to provide food and shelter for the incoming population.
Over the last 230 years (since the first fleet arrived in Australia) the need to feed, house, and clothe the world’s human population has created de-forestation and de-habitation on a grand scale, destroying natural carbon sinks (such as flora) and so causing an unprecedented anthropogenic change of the Earth’s atmosphere, thereby marching towards a Venusian catastrophe. The five ArtCloth works on the back wall explore a world that is ravaged by increased fire and heat due to anthropogenic change.
To achieve my art footprint, I have created a new signature technique called MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS). This installation features my hand printed and hand dyed ArtCloth works employing my signature MSDS technique using disperse dyes, multiple resists, numerous color plates, low relief items and native flora on synthetic fibers.
In-situ Images of ‘Timelines: An Environmental Journey’ ArtCloth installation at the 2018 CrossXpollinatioN Exhibition
Marie-Therese standing next to her ‘Timelines: An Environmental Journey’ ArtCloth Installation.
Front view of the five large hanging ArtCloth lengths in the ‘Black Box Theatre’.
View of the installation from the left hand side of the ‘Black Box Theatre’.
View of the installation from the right hand side of the ‘Black Box Theatre’.
View of the five smaller ArtCloth panels on the back wall from the right hand side of the ‘Black Box Theatre’.
View of the five smaller ArtCloth panels on the back wall from the left hand side of the ‘Black Box Theatre’.
Individual Images of Works in the ‘Timelines: An Environmental Journey’ ArtCloth Installation and Artwork Descriptions
Title: Timelines (full view).
Techniques and Media: Digitally designed and printed fabric length, silkscreened and hand stitched employing gold foil, lutrador and cotton thread on silky faille.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 300 cm (height).
Artist Statement: The ArtCloth work, “Timelines”, depicts the fragility of life due to “The Great Permian Extinction”, which was caused by natural climate change. The trilobites (below the extinction timeline) are representative of the extinct marine species, whereas the sea horse (above the extinction timeline) represents new species, with both halves being connected via the extinction timeline.
Timelines (detail view).
Title: Sequestration of CO2 (full view). Part 1 of a diptych.
Techniques and Media: The artists signature MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing disperse dyes, native flora and low relief items on delustered satin.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 300 cm (height).
Artist Statement: The dyptich, “Sequestration of CO2”, explores the similar (but opposing in direction) diurnal patterns of photosynthesis and respiration in an Australian Ecosystem during the Carbonaceous period.
Sequestration of CO2 (detail view). Part 1 of a diptych.
Title: Sequestration of CO2 (full view). Part 2 of a diptych.
Techniques and Media: The artists signature MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing disperse dyes, native flora and low relief items on delustered satin.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 300 cm (height).
Artist Statement: The dyptich, “Sequestration of CO2”, explores the similar (but opposing in direction) diurnal patterns of photosynthesis and respiration in an Australian Ecosystem during the Carbonaceous period.
Sequestration of CO2 (detail view). Part 2 of a diptych.
Title: Gondwana (full view). Part 1 of a diptych.
Techniques and Media: The artists signature MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing disperse dyes, native flora and low relief items on delustered satin.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 146 cm (height).
Artist Statement: The ArtCloth diptych, “Gondwana” explores ancient plants, which reveal their Gondwanan origins and comprise a diverse mosaic of vegetation communities from rainforests to grasslands.
Gondwana (detail view). Part 1 of a diptych.
Title: Gondwana (full view). Part 2 of a diptych.
Techniques and Media: The artists signature MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing disperse dyes, native flora and low relief items on delustered satin.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 146 cm (height).
Artist Statement: The ArtCloth diptych, “Gondwana” explores ancient plants, which reveal their Gondwanan origins and comprise a diverse mosaic of vegetation communities from rainforests to grasslands.
Gondwana (detail view). Part 2 of a diptych.
Title: Tropical Heat (full view).
Techniques and Media: The artists signature MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing disperse dyes, native flora and low relief items on delustered satin.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 120 cm (height).
Artist Statement: Kakadu National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia, 171 km southeast of Darwin. As anthropogenic climate change will accelerate the Park will come under an increasing threat. This ArtCloth work depicts the threat posed to Kakadu by flooding, sea level rises and extreme heat.
Tropical Heat (detail view).
Title: No Autumn (full view).
Techniques and Media: The artists signature MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing disperse dyes, native flora and low relief items on delustered satin.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 120 cm (height).
Artist Statement: I live in the temperate zone in Lake Macquarie, NSW, which is approximately 150 km north of Sydney. In 2014 (and subsequent years) we had “No Autumn”. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology recorded that it was the warmest autumn on record in the Sydney and surrounding regions with both maximum and minimum temperature well above the average. This ArtCloth piece explores the impact of having “No Autumn”.
No Autumn (detail view).
Title: Flames Unfurling (full view).
Techniques and Media: The artists signature MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing disperse dyes, native flora and low relief items on delustered satin.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 120 cm (height).
Artist Statement: The Australian landscape has been and will always be bedeviled by bushfires. To this day, the manner in which Australian biota has tolerated and then exploited bushfires for reproductive advantage is still not understood and so is a topic of debate. The ArtCloth work, “Flames Unfurling” explores the destructive power of a drier world due to anthropogenic climate change.
Flames Unfurling (detail view).
Title: Black Saturday (full view).
Techniques and Media: The artists signature MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing disperse dyes, native flora and low relief items on delustered satin.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 120 cm (height).
Artist Statement: The 2009 bushfires in January and February ravaged many parts of the State of Victoria and touched directly and indirectly many millions of people in the State, across Australia and internationally. The ArtCloth work, “Black Saturday” depicts the devastation of this single catastrophic event.
Black Saturday (detail view).
Title: Tropical Jewels (full view).
Techniques and Media: The artists signature MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing disperse dyes, native flora and low relief items on delustered satin.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 120 cm (height).
Artist Statement: The Daintree Rainforest, which lies on the north-east coast in Queensland is one of the oldest ”wet tropics” rainforests in the world - 135 million years old. Of the world’s 19 primitive plants, 13 are found in the Daintree Rainforest. Due to its unique evolutionary history the Daintree Rainforest is at present World Heritage listed but will be under threat due to anthropogenic climate change.
Acknowledgements:
I would like to thank Tamzin, Julie and all the people associated with the 2018 CrossXpollinatioN exhibition for their efforts in administrating my entry, for underwriting the delivery and return of my artworks, and for paying for my accommodation during my stay in Colac. I would like to thank Carole, Andrew, Nick, Chris and Brian and the lighting team for hanging and lighting my ArtCloth works. I would also like to thank my fellow feature artists and judge, Melissa, for her comradery when we were assessing artworks. I would like to thank the audio/visual team for setting up my PDF file for my talk and to the people who attended my talk. Thank you Tamzin and team - your efforts are greatly appreciated!
For you convenience I have listed another post on this blogspot in this series:
2018 CrossXpollinatioN "Journeys" Exhibition
Introduction
In September 2017, Hal Martin, the then Manager of the Colac Otway Performing Arts & Cultural Centre (COPACC), Colac, Victoria, Australia, invited me to consider submitting a proposal as a Feature Artist for the ‘2018 CrossXpollinatioN’ exhibition titled, ‘Journeys’, at the COPACC Civic Hall, 7th - 29th July 2018 which traditionally featured 3D textile and fiber artworks. Based on COPACC’s criteria I submitted a proposal for my installation concept titled, ‘Timelines: An Environmental Journey’. My proposal included schematic diagrams of the installation, images of the artworks in the installation, installation artist statement as well as individual artwork statements, my CV and biography.
Installation Concept and Techniques
The ‘Timelines: An Environmental Journey’ installation consisted of ten ArtCloth lengths/panels. The concept of ‘Timelines: An Environmental Journey’ is based on a timeline which begins with the Carbonaceous period and ends with Anthropogenic climate change issues. Most of the ten ArtCloth pieces in the installation were created using my pioneering signature technique ‘MultiSperse Dye Sublimation’ (MSDS). In this technique, I employ disperse dyes, native flora and low relief items on synthetic fibers and fabrics.
A Brief Overview of My MSDS Development History and the MSDS Technique
For over twenty years, I have been experimenting and working with hand printing techniques using disperse dyes on synthetic/polyester fabrics. Disperse dyes are a commercial dye type which are light fast, color fast and wash fast and they have been specifically created for synthetic fibers. The dyes are transparent (printing a blue area over a yellow will produce green) and so lend themselves to layering and overprinting to build rich and complex surfaces. A heat press or iron is used to sublimate (transfer) the dye molecules into the fabric fibres. I have been teaching my MSDS technique at international and national conferences/workshops, textile forums, to textile groups and within university courses.
Group photograph of participants and myself on the last day of my five day “Melding Experiences: New Landscapes Using Disperse Dyes and Transfer Printing” workshop, which was organized by the Surface Design Association (SDA) as part of the Confluence Conference post-workshop program. It was held at McNeal Hall on the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, from June 13th - 17th 2011.
The MSDS Technique
The MSDS technique employs disperse dyes and involves hand printing multiple resists and multiple overprinted layers employing numerous color plates, low relief native plant materials and low relief items on synthetic fibres and fabrics. The completed works are rich in color, light, shade, contrast, movement and depth. The multiple layers also imbue a painterly aesthetic and textural, three-dimensional quality to the finished ArtCloth works. Each print is unique and cannot be replicated.
My MSDS technique has been published in a number of journals and magazines (e.g. Imprint, Print Council of Australia journal, March/Autumn 2013; Embellish magazine, March/Autumn 2012; Down Under Textiles magazine, October 2011; Quilting Arts magazine, September/October 2011).
‘Timelines: An Environmental Journey’ ArtCloth Installation
The following four schematic diagrams were in the submission as part of my proposal as a Feature Artist for the ‘2018 CrossXpollinatioN’ exhibition titled, ‘Journeys’. The diagrams were constructed in order to assist in the curation of my installation.
Artist Statement and Explanation of the Installation
My environmental art utilizes man-made dyes (disperse dyes) and fibers (synthetics) in order to make a statement that is consistent and non-contradictory, namely: as the human population accelerates towards 9 billion by the year 2050 the de-forestation and de-habitation due to human needs must be contained and sustainable in order that flora and fauna - that we do not consume - can coexist with us on this planet.
The exhibition opens up with the ArtCloth work, “Timelines”, which maps an evolutionary journey due to the “Great Permian Extinction”. The trilobites could not survive this natural disaster because of the impact of climate change. However, such a change created a new species - the sea horse - as evident after the extinction timeline in the work.
The diptych, “Sequestration of CO2” depicts climate change due to the rise of flora during the carbonaceous period – a period that altered the Earth’s atmosphere to become oxygen rich rather than adopting the Venusian climate, which is carbon rich and so cannot support flora and fauna.
After the carbonaceous period, Australia’s evolutionary flora story is mapped by the ArtCloth diptych, “Gondwana”. It was from the relictual forests (rainforest remnants of Gondwana) that the Australian flora evolved with its uniquely colored and high concentration of primitive plant species.
With the arrival of the Aborigines in Australia approximately 50,000 to 60,000 years ago, fire management of the native flora began. Australia’s flora adapted to changed circumstances. With the arrival of the British in Australia de-forestation was systematically planned in order to provide food and shelter for the incoming population.
Over the last 230 years (since the first fleet arrived in Australia) the need to feed, house, and clothe the world’s human population has created de-forestation and de-habitation on a grand scale, destroying natural carbon sinks (such as flora) and so causing an unprecedented anthropogenic change of the Earth’s atmosphere, thereby marching towards a Venusian catastrophe. The five ArtCloth works on the back wall explore a world that is ravaged by increased fire and heat due to anthropogenic change.
To achieve my art footprint, I have created a new signature technique called MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS). This installation features my hand printed and hand dyed ArtCloth works employing my signature MSDS technique using disperse dyes, multiple resists, numerous color plates, low relief items and native flora on synthetic fibers.
In-situ Images of ‘Timelines: An Environmental Journey’ ArtCloth installation at the 2018 CrossXpollinatioN Exhibition
Individual Images of Works in the ‘Timelines: An Environmental Journey’ ArtCloth Installation and Artwork Descriptions
Techniques and Media: Digitally designed and printed fabric length, silkscreened and hand stitched employing gold foil, lutrador and cotton thread on silky faille.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 300 cm (height).
Artist Statement: The ArtCloth work, “Timelines”, depicts the fragility of life due to “The Great Permian Extinction”, which was caused by natural climate change. The trilobites (below the extinction timeline) are representative of the extinct marine species, whereas the sea horse (above the extinction timeline) represents new species, with both halves being connected via the extinction timeline.
Techniques and Media: The artists signature MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing disperse dyes, native flora and low relief items on delustered satin.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 300 cm (height).
Artist Statement: The dyptich, “Sequestration of CO2”, explores the similar (but opposing in direction) diurnal patterns of photosynthesis and respiration in an Australian Ecosystem during the Carbonaceous period.
Techniques and Media: The artists signature MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing disperse dyes, native flora and low relief items on delustered satin.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 300 cm (height).
Artist Statement: The dyptich, “Sequestration of CO2”, explores the similar (but opposing in direction) diurnal patterns of photosynthesis and respiration in an Australian Ecosystem during the Carbonaceous period.
Techniques and Media: The artists signature MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing disperse dyes, native flora and low relief items on delustered satin.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 146 cm (height).
Artist Statement: The ArtCloth diptych, “Gondwana” explores ancient plants, which reveal their Gondwanan origins and comprise a diverse mosaic of vegetation communities from rainforests to grasslands.
Techniques and Media: The artists signature MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing disperse dyes, native flora and low relief items on delustered satin.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 146 cm (height).
Artist Statement: The ArtCloth diptych, “Gondwana” explores ancient plants, which reveal their Gondwanan origins and comprise a diverse mosaic of vegetation communities from rainforests to grasslands.
Techniques and Media: The artists signature MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing disperse dyes, native flora and low relief items on delustered satin.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 120 cm (height).
Artist Statement: Kakadu National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia, 171 km southeast of Darwin. As anthropogenic climate change will accelerate the Park will come under an increasing threat. This ArtCloth work depicts the threat posed to Kakadu by flooding, sea level rises and extreme heat.
Techniques and Media: The artists signature MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing disperse dyes, native flora and low relief items on delustered satin.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 120 cm (height).
Artist Statement: I live in the temperate zone in Lake Macquarie, NSW, which is approximately 150 km north of Sydney. In 2014 (and subsequent years) we had “No Autumn”. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology recorded that it was the warmest autumn on record in the Sydney and surrounding regions with both maximum and minimum temperature well above the average. This ArtCloth piece explores the impact of having “No Autumn”.
Techniques and Media: The artists signature MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing disperse dyes, native flora and low relief items on delustered satin.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 120 cm (height).
Artist Statement: The Australian landscape has been and will always be bedeviled by bushfires. To this day, the manner in which Australian biota has tolerated and then exploited bushfires for reproductive advantage is still not understood and so is a topic of debate. The ArtCloth work, “Flames Unfurling” explores the destructive power of a drier world due to anthropogenic climate change.
Techniques and Media: The artists signature MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing disperse dyes, native flora and low relief items on delustered satin.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 120 cm (height).
Artist Statement: The 2009 bushfires in January and February ravaged many parts of the State of Victoria and touched directly and indirectly many millions of people in the State, across Australia and internationally. The ArtCloth work, “Black Saturday” depicts the devastation of this single catastrophic event.
Techniques and Media: The artists signature MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing disperse dyes, native flora and low relief items on delustered satin.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 120 cm (height).
Artist Statement: The Daintree Rainforest, which lies on the north-east coast in Queensland is one of the oldest ”wet tropics” rainforests in the world - 135 million years old. Of the world’s 19 primitive plants, 13 are found in the Daintree Rainforest. Due to its unique evolutionary history the Daintree Rainforest is at present World Heritage listed but will be under threat due to anthropogenic climate change.
Acknowledgements:
I would like to thank Tamzin, Julie and all the people associated with the 2018 CrossXpollinatioN exhibition for their efforts in administrating my entry, for underwriting the delivery and return of my artworks, and for paying for my accommodation during my stay in Colac. I would like to thank Carole, Andrew, Nick, Chris and Brian and the lighting team for hanging and lighting my ArtCloth works. I would also like to thank my fellow feature artists and judge, Melissa, for her comradery when we were assessing artworks. I would like to thank the audio/visual team for setting up my PDF file for my talk and to the people who attended my talk. Thank you Tamzin and team - your efforts are greatly appreciated!
