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.
