Cloth - contemporary textiles from Aotearoa

Cloth Alice Alva, Tui Emma Gillies & Sulieti Fieme’a Burrows, Serene Hodgman, Jay Hutchinson, Bronwyn Lloyd, Victoria McIntosh, Jude Te Punga Nelson, Jade Townsend, May Trubuhovich, Arielle Walker and Cora-Allan Wickliffe

18 April – 15 May 2021

May Trubuhovich 1. Lookout, 2020 Cotton hand embroidery on cotton toile “Festive”, acrylic medium; 385 x 158mm

$1500

May Trubuhovich 2. Guide, 2020 Cotton hand embroidery on collaged cotton toile “Festive”; acrylic ink, acrylic medium; 280 x 280mm

$1500

May Trubuhovich 3. Source, 2021

$1500

Cotton hand embroidery on collaged cotton toile “Festive”; acrylic ink, acrylic medium; 185 x 185mm ‘These works developed out of my earlier magenta “Nymphs” and are part of an ongoing series titled “Magenta Mystery”. Evoking elements of the storyboard, the comic strip, a set of film stills, or a detective’s “mood board”, they flesh out a mysterious narrative involving two characters in a forested landscape.

Lookout combines four panels containing the same rocky background, which are hand sewn together side by side.

Guide and Source were created by collaging together many small pieces of a magenta cotton toile de Jouy, a fabric typified by elaborate, European-style pastoral scenes in monochrome on a light background. Small areas of the fabric that featured trees or foliage were carefully excised and then combined to create a larger stage for my invented hand embroidered characters. It was hugely satisfying to play around with the many pieces of these arboreal puzzles before finally fixing them into place. After the embroidery was complete, the vignette-type borders were painted using acrylic ink. This adrenaline-inducing act is always a bracing counterpoint to the long, slow, careful process of hand embroidery; I enjoy the element of risk that it brings to the process.’

Bronwyn Lloyd 4. Confluence Bag (Stone Lion), 2021.

Linen, cotton, silk and wool. Embellished with a glazed porcelain twist by Nichola Shanley.

$650

5. Confluence Bag (Thistle), 2021.

Linen, cotton, silk and wool. Embellished with a glazed porcelain twist by Nichola Shanley.

$650

6. Confluence Bag (Watcher), 2021.

Linen, cotton, silk and wool. Embellished with a glazed porcelain twist by Nichola Shanley.

$650

7. Confluence Bag (Guardian), 2021.

Linen, cotton, silk and wool. Embellished with a glazed porcelain twist by Nichola Shanley.

NFS

Artist statement: It is a rare thing to meet someone and become firm friends right away, but that is exactly what happened when Auckland art writer and crafter Bronwyn Lloyd met Lyttelton artist Nichola Shanley in 2019. This group of five quilted Confluence Bags, each one featuring a central image of a drawing by Shanley that has been translated into stitch by Lloyd, is the offshoot of the warm friendship that has developed between the pair and a testament to the value of creative collaboration.

“I can’t recreate the intensity of your drawings,” Bronwyn wrote to Nichola, “but I’m trying to capture a glimpse of their magic.”

“You’re wrong,” Nichola replied. “You are transforming them into radiant feelings of delight. They are humming.”

- Bronwyn Lloyd, 2020

Alice Alva 8. Morning Glory, 2021

$950

Threaded cotton, wool, silk, metallic and acrylic thread on suiting linen in custom frame; L335 x H250 x D32mm

Alice Alva 9. Lazy Lover, 2021 Threaded cotton on suiting linen in custom frame; L190 x H230 x D32mm

$750

Alice Alva 10. Playing the Field, 2021 Stranded cotton and silk on suiting linen in custom frame; l225 x H190 x D32mm

$750

Artist statement I am drawn to the laborious process employed by traditional embroidery, textiles and craft techniques and driven by the obsessive act of repetition. This series of works are part of an on-going investigation which explores connection, memory, love, loss - the intimate moments associated with soft textiles. These pieces are a reminder of cloth's role as a threshold between our inner and outer worlds. I am interested in the relationships that we form with and within cloth fibres, whether it’s a favourite t-shirt, an decorative doily embroidered from a great-grandmother, or a jersey worn by a lover, textiles as objects can act as a substitute for missing our beloved or memories from past lives.

- Alice Alva

Serene Hodgman 11. Fetu, 2021 plastic mat with ribbon; L565 x H811mm

$1100

Tāmaki Makaurau based artist Serene Hodgman (nee Timoteo) graduated BFA Elam School of Fine Arts, 2014.

Serene embroiders and weaves silk ribbon on and through the surface of woven plastic mats, creating vibrant work expressing her identity, contemporising, and paying homage to traditional Pacific making practice.

Heavily inspired by her Samoan heritage and upbringing in Auckland, Serene integrates traditional handmade crafts such as tivaevae (Cook Island embroidery), ‘ie toga (Samoan fine mats) and koloa (Tongan fine mats) into her work. Serene’s vibrant works use various inexpensive materials sourced from local emporiums to transform simple woven mats into a unique, vibrant contemporary artform.

Tui Emma Gillies & Sulieti Fieme’a Burrows 12. Faces of The Pandemic Series 2 (1), 2021 Tapa cloth, Indian ink and umea-red earth from Falevai, Vava’u; 500 x 500mm

$650

Tui Emma Gillies & Sulieti Fieme’a Burrows 12. Faces of The Pandemic Series 2 (2), 2021 Tapa cloth, Indian ink and umea-red earth from Falevai, Vava’u; 500 x 500mm

$650

Tui Emma Gillies & Sulieti Fieme’a Burrows 12. Faces of The Pandemic Series 2 (3), 2021 Tapa cloth, Indian ink and umea-red earth from Falevai, Vava’u; 500 x 500mm

$650

Tui Emma Gillies & Sulieti Fieme’a Burrows 12. Faces of The Pandemic Series 2 (4), 2021 Tapa cloth, Indian ink and umea-red earth from Falevai, Vava’u; 500 x 500mm

$650

Sulieti Fieme’a Burrows and Tui Emma Gillies are a Tongan New Zealand mother-and-daughter team that make tapa cloth and are scholars of the art. The duo’s art manifests their shared passion and close relationship in a hybrid style harmonizing traditional tapa with contemporary elements. Apart from adding colour pigment onto designs that are customarily black and brown, their work also integrates themes that deviate from the standard of geometric grids and floral motifs, often featuring themes of femininity, nurturing, protection, and spirituality. Burrows and Gillies strive to utilize as many natural resources as they can in tandem with modern materials. Tapa cloth itself is entirely decomposable, and the glue they use to paste each piece together is mixed with tapioca starch, half-cooked until the texture’s right. Their main modern adaptations in creating tapa art include Indian ink and acrylic paint.

The mother-daughter duo have presented, exhibited, and sold their art to museums and private collections around the world and were the recipients of the 2018 Creative New Zealand Heritage Arts Award.

Jade Townsend 13. Villa Market Phuket (1,2,3,4), 2019

$1750 each

Used shopping bags from Villa Market, Phuket, Thailand; selection of glass beads, made in Phuket, Thailand; 920 x 305mm

Jade Townsend 13. Villa Market Phuket (1), 2019

$1750

Used shopping bags from Villa Market, Phuket, Thailand; selection of glass beads, made in Phuket, Thailand; 920 x 305mm

Jade Townsend 13. Villa Market Phuket (2), 2019

$1750

Used shopping bags from Villa Market, Phuket, Thailand; selection of glass beads, made in Phuket, Thailand; 920 x 305mm

Jade Townsend 13. Villa Market Phuket (3), 2019

$1750

Used shopping bags from Villa Market, Phuket, Thailand; selection of glass beads, made in Phuket, Thailand; 920 x 305mm

Jade Townsend 13. Villa Market Phuket (4), 2019

$1750

Used shopping bags from Villa Market, Phuket, Thailand; selection of glass beads, made in Phuket, Thailand; 920 x 305mm ‘These works might have been fished up – woven by the waves. They’re not organic, but they grew in the ocean, coalescing like the islands we’ve heard about… In the future, we might be pleased to find a single-use plastic bag – and it won’t be single-use anymore… having stood the test of time, that can be carefully washed and used to carry potable water, or to wrap precious food to protect it from spoiling, or woven into something beautiful, unnecessary, vital, to be taken out and looked at when in a safe place of rest…’ – Matilda Fraser, Homesick/Sick home 2020

Jude Te Punga Nelson 14. Arahina, 2021

$2150

A muka kete with pukeko feathers, karure and taniko; Muka, Pukeko feathers, Commercial Dye; 250 x 180 x 25mm ‘The muka kete “Arahina” tells the story of the great voyage from Hawaiiki to Aotearoa. The ancestors, portrayed in the Karure (unravelling strands that look like DNA) used the stars and perhaps the migratory paths of whales to find their way to our country.

The taniko (coloured pattern) has the Southern Cross star constellation (Arahina) on one side and the Matariki star constellation on the other. The main body of the kete has the pattern “whale’s tail” woven into it.’

15. Poi Afrikiwi, 2021

$1770

A tasselled taniko muka poi; Muka, Natural Dye; 90 x 270mm + 530mm 8ply cord.

‘Poi Afrikiwi came into being after a conversation with my friend Nono Motsatsi, who was born and raised in South Africa. We spoke about how might blend our cultures’ art together. The taniko design beautifully mixes the white and gold together representing the swirling of our two countries, like a cup of tea when you add the milk. The gold dye is a blend of Rooibos (African red bush tea) and Dilmah black tea.’

16. Maui Catches Corona, 2021

$7525

Harakeke, Pingao, Muka, Commercial Dye; 1750 x 750 x 50mm ‘Demigod Maui and his brothers lamented that the days were so short because the sun gleefully raced across the sky. Maui told his brothers that he would slow the sun and they mocked him. He wove strong ropes and when the morning sun crested the hills, at great risk to themselves, he and his brothers threw his ropes over the sun. The sun wrestled desperately with the brothers but was unable to free itself. The sun agreed to slow down.

I am grateful to live in a country that has restrained the Corona Virus. I am grateful to our frontline workers who have put themselves at great risk. I am so grateful to those who made the decision to throw “strong ropes” across our borders.’

Jay Hutchinson 17. Untitled Dunedin Landscape, May 2020

$3000

Hand-embroidery on cotton Drill, filled with exhibition packing materials left in the gallery from previous Deinstall. Conceived to go into a gallery space post deinstallation, this work is a replica of an official Dunedin city council rubbish bag. Dimensions variable as previous packaging materials that the bag is filled with can vary in each installation.

Cora-allan Wickliffe 18. Poems of Niue, 2021

$13,500

Hiapo - traditional cloth and ink; L x H mm ‘Pattern making is an ancient form of sharing knowledge, stories and has always been an important part of inter-generational art practices.

Through the art form of Hiapo, this work embodies new patterns which are inspired by seasons of change and movement on the island of Niue.

Crabs, butterflies, woven hats and harvesting plantations are at the core of this piece as the artist reflects on her time that would have been in Niue if not for the pandemic. Travelling to the island at least three times a year, her love of the landscape and the people draw her into incorporating more of these experiences into her Hiapo. Departing from using fully traditional patterns, this piece is the beginning of a new journey with Niuean patterns for the artist and acts as segments of a poem sharing intimate memories of Niue.’

Jay Hutchinson 19. Wendy’s cup on Concrete

$2500

Hand embroidery on digital print (cup) hand embroidery on print taken from road (concrete) Dimension’s variable based on the position of the cup.

Victoria McIntosh 20. On the Rag – hottie cover, 2021

$950

linen, thread, homemade bias binding, embroidery, quilting; 380 x 260mm ‘On the Rag began in lock down, searching for calm in uncertain times, I chose to stitch.

Using cloth, hoop and thread I set about relearning the stitches from a sampler I made when I was eleven years old. Having been sent to the type of school that aimed to mould nice young ladies, embroidery was still part of the curriculum during the 1980s.

I have spent a life-time reeling against those very expectations but secretly grateful for the embroidery lessons….

This is the first in a series of hottie covers covering topics ‘we wish our mothers had taught us’.

Jade Townsend 21. Soft Cultural Celebration X, 2019

$3500

Woven plastic tablecloths from vegetable market in Phuket, Thailand, acrylic paint from America, framed; 815 x 700mm

Arielle Walker 22. distance rewoven across a sea of heather, 2021

$2200

35mm film (Pitlochry heather, Perthshire, Scotland); dye-sublimated print onto hemp; whatu in cotton embroidery thread.

Arielle Walker (Taranaki, Ngāruahine, Ngāpuhi, Pākehā) is a Tāmaki Makaurau-based contemporary artist, writer and maker.

Having recently completed a Master of Visual Arts at AUT University, her practice seeks pathways towards reciprocal belonging through the intersections and connections between land, language, and craft, focusing on tactile storytelling and ancestral narratives. Contexts that surround this include the interconnectedness of isolated islands, the intrinsic ties of language and land, migration across the swell and pull of the ocean, textile traditions passed down through generations of tūpuna wāhine, roots and botanical belongings, pūrākau ("myths" and "folklore") as non-fiction.