We are a group of practising visual artists, living and working in Australia. We work in all mediums including textiles, sculpture, photography, painting and drawing to name a few. We have and continue to exhibit both nationally and internationally in both solo and group exhibitions.
networksaustralia.blogspot.com.au
This all began later in the 2000s decade but it’s included here because it was the 2010s when it all really blossomed ……………… and continues to blossom.
In April 2008 I was with Nancy Tingey in her studio at Strathnairn …………. We were chatting about my family research on Amy Bock – the ‘wicked woman’ from our family tree – the black sheep the family didn’t talk about. Earlier in the year Nancy had agreed to be my mentor for an exhibition Fiona Clark and I were doing about Amy’s life. I was stuck and Nancy had asked me more about my research.
‘Amy was a whizz with crepe paper’ I reported. ‘She made costumes for children using crepe paper’.
‘Can you knit with crepe paper? Nancy asked. ‘Don’t know’ I said, ‘It’s an interesting idea’.
I took the idea home, was playing with it on my needles and had brought this work in progress to show her.
Then Nancy started telling me about her work with nets and her ideas about net working with others about nets ………….
She was learning to make nets in the traditional way and had collected an array of natural fibres for the task. Her interest in the subject, its traditions, history and modern manifestations led her into conversations with many of us in different parts of the world. And that led to thinking of ourselves as ‘the Nets group’ and considering ways we could put some of these ideas into action.
Ideas have consequences – or, as we say and sing in this country, ‘From little things big things grow’.
In June 2009 a group of us in Canberra gathered in the Textile Department at the Australian National University [ANU]. We talked together, ate together, made lists of ideas and showed each other some of our current work. This slide show tells the story:
Later that year we did a Wire Netting Workshop with Kathy Deprez at Strathnairn. We used a variety of materials and produced a variety of items…………….
As well as attending workshops such as this we were all working away in our various workrooms and studios on our projects. Meetings were being held to plan and manage upcoming exhibitions.
Our first Exhibition was held here in Canberra at the ANU in September 2010. There have been subsequent exhibitions in subsequent years both here in Australia and internationally. This next bit tells some of the story and the pics tell more………………
This next series of images are from the aforementioned exhibitions by various of the artists. Contact me if you’d like more specific information about any of these.
