We lost and we won

'We lost and we won' is a solo exhibition at Ararat Regional Art Gallery from 22^nd of October until 6 December 2015. The work highlights everyday struggles and achievements through a series of paintings and soft sculptures.

In a sport obsessed society the exhibition playfully challenges the way we see victories, by acknowledging some of the most difficult and personally challenging activities people face.

The embroidered and heat moulded fabric sculptures were produced while undertaking the Artist In Residence program through Ashfield Council in Sydney. Inspired by the self-professed, but otherwise unacknowledged accomplishments of the artist's friends and family, these sculptures de-construct the shape and notion of the trophy. By embracing these individual stories of generosity, adventure and strength while producing the works, the sculptures seemed to develop of their own accord.

The seven paintings on show depict altered sporting trophies alongside everyday objects, which have been discarded and given to a second-hand store, representing the difficulties and frustrations that come with day to day life.

Installation view, We lost and we won, Ararat Regional Art Gallery, 2015

Integrity and Value, 2015, Silk and synthetic Fabric and embroidery thread.

Integrity and Value, 2015, Silk and synthetic Fabric and embroidery thread.

Ultramarine Reservation, 2015, Fabric and silk thread.

Money for Jam, 2015, Silk and synthetic Fabric and embroidery thread.

Money for Jam, 2015, Silk and synthetic Fabric and embroidery thread.

Perinatal, Synthetic 2015, Fabric and metallic thread.

Perinatal, Synthetic 2015, Fabric and metallic thread.

A special place for trash in Gothatar, 2015, Fabric and metallic thread.

Because You Asked Me To, 2015, Silk and synthetic fabric, embroidery thread.

Disquietude Trophy, 2013,
Bobbin lace sculpture made from embroidery thread.

Disquietude Trophy, 2013,
Bobbin lace sculpture made from embroidery thread.

Installation view, We lost and we won, Ararat Regional Art Gallery, 2015

Close ones, Oil, 2015, on paper.

Value adding, 2015, Oil on paper.

Play with me, 2015, Oil on paper.

Domestic disorder, 2015, Oil on paper.

Books for building, 2015, Oil on paper.

Be festive, 2015, Oil on paper.

Connection problems, Oil on paper.

The Disquietude Trophy Project

We all have struggles in life. This project is about visually acknowledging everyday battles you have endured and overcome – by creating a trophy symbolising your resilience.

The trophies will be created through a series of three-hour workshops facilitated by Kate Cotching, an artist and social worker. The trophies produced will be displayed in the Mildura Arts Centre Foyer, and participants will be able to take their work home at the end of the

exhibition.

Artwork by Bharti Patel- trophy about hard work.

Workshops

For further information, or to make a group booking, contact Kate Cotching on 0410 772 058 or cotchingkate@hotmail.com – bookings close Sunday 28 February.

Individuals can come along to open workshops in the Mildura Arts Centre Foyer at 11am on Wednesday 2, Thursday 3, and Sunday 13 of March. No bookings required.

Exhibition

The works will be exhibited in the Mildura Arts Centre Foyer from Tuesday 1 to Tuesday 15 March.

The Regional Arts Fund is an Australian Government initiative supporting the arts in regional and remote Australia, administered in Victoria by Regional Arts Victoria.

This project is also supported through Mildura Rural City Council's Arts Development grant and auspiced by Arts Mildura.

Artist In Residence, Ashfield NSW, August to October 2015

From the 11th of August until the 30th of October 2015 I lived and worked in the historic Thirning Villa in Ashfield NSW. The Residency was part of Ashfield council's Artist In Residence program.
During this time I produced some of the work for my exhibition We lost and we won at Ararat Regional Art Gallery and ran a number of community arts projects, including an exhibition titled Out of the cube in Thirning Villa, a sculpture workshop, and an award ribbon making activity in the main street as part of Ashfield Council's Frolic in the Forecourt.

The beautiful artwork by Bharti Partel made during the workshop at Thirning Villa

One of the many award ribbons made by passers-by at the Frolic in the Forecourt 

The video is a slideshow of the other ribbons made on the day

Upcoming exhibition at Ararat Regional Art Gallery

Over the past year I've been working towards an exhibition at Ararat Regional ArtGallery.

The exhibition We lost and we won runs from 22^nd October to the 6^th December.

There will be a special viewing and an Artist's talk on Saturday the 7^th November at 1pm which is open for anyone to attend.

The work in the exhibition playfully challenges the way we see victories, inviting the possibility that in some cases, facing up to the daily hum-drum of life can be as challenging as winning a race. With this in mind I have made a series of paintings as well as a collection of soft, fabric trophies for my friends and family to recognise their self-professed but otherwise unacknowledged accomplishments.

Ararat Regional Art Gallery is at the intersection of Vincent Street and the Western Highway, Ararat, in the historic late-Victorian Town Hall building. It is open Monday to Friday 10am – 4.30pm and Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays 12-4pm

Ararat is around a two and a half hour drive from Melbourne at the gateway to the Grampians region and there are daily Vline trains from Melbourne to Ararat. A great place for a day trip if your in Melbourne.

Here are some images of some of the work exhibited as well as work in progress.

Working al fresco while on residence in Sydney
 as part of Ashfield Council's Artist In Residence Program

Because you asked me to 2015

Silk and polyester fabric, metallic embroidery thread, 

heat moulded fabric, acrylic paint.

Oil paintings on paper in the background

Trimmings add value 2015

Oil on paper

Close ones 2015

Oil on paper

Ultramarine reservation 2015

Assorted heat moulded fabrics, silk embroidery thread, acrylic paint

Integrity and value 2015 (Detail )

Silk and polyester fabric, metallic and cotton embroidery thread,

 heat moulded fabric, beads, acrylic paint

Out of the cube, exhibition in Sydney

Rosina Byrne, Filomena Coppola, Danielle Hobbs, Bob Jankowski, Heather Lee, Rohan Morris, Kerryn Sylvia, Robin Bates-Koroi, and Stuart Walsh.
Curated by Kate Cotching.

Out of the cube is an exhibition located in an historic suburban Sydney villa as part of Ashfield Council's Artist in Residence (AIR)program. The exhibition showcases work by 10 artists from Mildura, Victoria who have exhibited with whitcubemildura, an Artist Run Initiative that has shown work by more than 100 regional artists and hosted over 190 exhibitions since 2011.

Danielle Hobbs, Filomena Coppola, Rosina Byrne, Heather Lee and Bob Jankowski.

Bob Jankowski, Robin Bates-Koroi and Stuart Walsh, Heather Lee, Rohan Morris and Kerryn Sylvia.

The exhibition is an "in-reach" program of whitecubemildura, an artist run space in Mildura Victoria. whitecubemildura was established in 2011 to address the need for an accessible exhibition space for artists that live locally.

Artists in regional areas rarely get the chance for their work to be seen by their urban peers and industry people. Out of the cube seeks to reciprocate the numerous "outreach" programs that tour to regional areas.

Find out more about the Artists;
Robin Bates-Koroi, Rosina Byrne, Filomena Coppola, Danielle Hobbs, Bob Jankowski, Heather Lee, Rohan Morris, Kerryn Sylvia, and Stuart Walsh and Kate Cotching..

A number of the exhibiting artists will also be exhibiting in the Mildura Palimpsest Biennale.

Thirning Villa, 40 Arthur Street, Ashfield NSW 2131
Opening: 6:30-7:30pm, Wednesday 9 September.
Exhibition: 12:30-5pm, Thursday 10 to Saturday 12,
and Thursday 17 to Saturday 19 September 2015.

Juliusz Robert Jankowski (Bob Jankowski)
Darling Confluence, 2014. Sand, paper.
Headland, 2014. Sand, paper.
Big Bend, 2014. Sand, paper.

Danielle Hobbs 
Little Mermaid Legs (anti-drowning tights), 2012
Re-purposed winter tights, carp scales, cotton, amulet.

Heather Lee
Cow corner: sacred and profane, 2015
Felt, self-adhesive coloured paper, plastic toy cow, gold leaf

Kate Cotching
Untitled (books) 2015
Oil on paper.

Kate Cotching
Because you asked me to, 2015
Fabric, thread, perspex, wire.

Kerryn Sylvia
Spitting image, 2012
C Type digital print

Rosina Byrne
Wrapped in culture, 2014
Plastic dolls, Sheep Bungs, string, steel.

Robin Daykin Reardon Bates-Koroi and Stuart John Ekin Walsh
Cross Cultural Cod, 2015.
Traditional Barkintji/Nyampaa weaving, spray paint.

Rohan Morris
His old Tools, 2015
Salvaged power tools, paint, decals.

Out of the cube, exhibition in Thirning Villa, Ashfield, Sydney, 2015. Exhibition opening.

Filomena Coppola,  Rosina Byrne, Heather Lee and Bob Jankowski.

Kate Cotching, Heather Lee, Danielle Hobbs, and Filomena Coppola.

Exhibition invite

The maker and the user

Here are images of my most recent installation as part of the xs collective exhibition at the Mildura Arts Centre. with 

Geoffrey Brown, Paul Yore, Stuart Walsh, Kerryn Sylvia, Rohan Morris, Danielle Hobbs, Kristian Häggblom, Laura Freitag, Dan Downing and Rosina Byrne

The maker and the user

Handmade bobbin lace, gold frame, clothing.

The maker and the user is an installation displaying a piece of contemporary lace‑work depicting women working in a sweatshop. This hand‑crafted object is veiled by a large quantity of mass produced clothing, purchased from local opportunity shops.

The textile industry has a long history of labour, exploitation, wealth and revolution. At the beginning of the nineteenth century disgruntled textile workers stormed factories to protest the introduction of mass production, which was having a devastating effect on their lives. In 2013, 1,129 textile workers died (in a building collapse) while working in a garment factory in Rana Plaza, Bangladesh.

Today as consumers we have a greater association with large faceless industries that brand the products we use, than with the people who make them. If we were to acknowledge the human aspect involved in creating our possessions, we may realise we have not paid enough forthem.