Sentinels and showboats at Geelong Gallery

Lace Face/Lace Wraith, 1997, linocut and hand stitching 
on interfacing, 123 x 61 cm. Collection: Geelong Gallery

My linocut Lace Face/Lace Wraith, 1997, is part of the current exhibition Sentinels and showboats – milestones in print collecting at Geelong Gallery. The exhibition aims to reflect the range and inventiveness of the works that have been acquired through the prestigious Geelong Print Acquisitive Award.

Lace Face/Lace Wraith was a recipient of the Award in 1997.  It was one of the final works that I completed whilst undertaking a Master of Arts (Research) Degree at Monash University in 1995-97. The motif of the tattoo, which I had explored via the Tattooed Faces and Figures series (1995-97) became ultimately a device through which to incorporate women’s sewing iconography as a signifier of women’s hidden histories. As an extension of this, I began to print onto fabric, then layer and hand stitch the imagery. At first I experimented with pre-exisiting blocks, beginning with the linocut Lace Face, 1996 (the basis for this work) before progressing to new linocuts designed specifically for printing onto fabric. The first of these was The Lair of the Lyrebird, 1997. To see this and other works on fabric, click HERE.

Lace Face/Lace Wraith reflects my ongoing fascination with the notion of the double - in this instance, the haunted double. In Scottish dialect, a wraith is a spectre or apparition of a living person; it is also regarded as a portent or omen.

Other featured artists in Sentinels and showboats include Heather Shimmen, Rona Green, Tate Adams, Raymond Arnold, George Baldessin, John Ryrie and Pat Brassington.

The exhibition continues until September 9.

Sentinels and showboats – milestones in print collecting
Geelong Gallery

Little Malop Street

Geelong Vic 3220

Tel: (03) 5229 3645