.: Dress Code - an MoB Exhibition

Thursday 13 December 2018

Dress Code - an MoB Exhibition

Today I ventured into the city to attend the curator's tour of Dress Code, an exhibition at the Museum of Brisbane. It's always a bit of a weird trip down memory lane going there, as I was a part of the MoB Store team when both it and the gallery were being created in 2003!

Comprised of the work of 5 artists, 2 in particular resonated with me. The first was Hannah Gartside's installation of repurposed animal-print clothes and scarves, hauntingly wafting in the breeze created by three mini-fans. I liked it. It made sense to me. It pleased my eye.

My eye was also very pleased by the work of Grace Lillian Lee. In a small room, these five wearable works rested, whilst a video of them created an atmosphere with sound and imagery of the pieces being worn. Fascinated by the colour and texture of the work, it was not until I was taking photos that I really appreciated the effect of the shadows as well.

The technique to make the pieces was referred to as weaving, which confounded me - it looked like a wrapped/stitched/shibori type technique! Weaving?! I think the curator referred to it as 'caterpillar' weaving, but searches this afternoon have thrown up the term 'prawn' weaving, a traditional Torres Strait Islander palm weaving technique. I have only just begun my investigations! The tight and sinuous structure reminds me of the work of R.R.Pascoe, an Australian designer I have met at the World of WearableArt over the last few years, who uses hemp braid to create these award-winning sculptural works.