Hi all, ACDC had the great pleasure of inviting you an a friend to the opening of Chris Bolton’s exhibition “Beautiful Necessities”. When asked about the inspiration for the new work in her forthcoming exhibition in Geraldton, Chris Bolton said simply: ‘I am compelled to stitch.’ For Chris’s art practice, picking up a needle and thread to create an exhibition is a coming home. Stitching is her solace and her sanctuary, a place where she can pull together all the threads of a life inscribed by family, work and friends to create offerings that honour her notion of the sacred. The works in this exhibition reach back to her childhood on a farm in Mingenew where she was raised to respect the country ethos of ‘making do’. Chris talks of an elderly neighbour - a ‘bush woman’, as someone who had a major impact on the way she approaches life. She remembers bush walks, gathering and pressing flowers and a bassinet Mrs Hale made for her doll’s house from remnant steel, flour bags and embroidery. ‘Mrs Hale was constantly making things for the house. She made decorative mats out of hessian bags and stitched her own designs back into the fabric. Nothing was ever wasted and all materials could be made new through re-invention.’ The process of re-working and re-imagining something new from what is familiar has informed her practice ever since. In one sense all Chris’s artworks have been years in the making as they start with the collecting, preserving and re-cycling of worn and pre-loved materials. Stitching takes a lot of time, allowing Chris the space to imagine her own stories around the origins and uses of the remnants she handles. Six months into the making of this exhibition, Chris came across a book that resonated with her deeply. ’Beautiful Necessities’, a document about the art and meaning of women’s altars became her adopted title. Chris: This book felt like a consolidation of what I do and who I have become. It made me reflect on the behaviour patterns I have developed and gave me a great feeling of connection to other women in their own sacred spaces.’ Stitched into the jewel-like works in this exhibition you will find echoes of Indian clothing and Persian miniatures; the music of Tom Waits and Bob Dylan; fragments of generations of pyjamas and the pepper trees she loved as a child. Clothing tag logos Chris has extracted from clothing worn by her sons and their friends’ are stitched into a work that is both a deeply personal record of family life and a history of apparel in WA over three decades. Some works have the patina and traditional feel of pieces that seem centuries old - until you look closely and the familiar weave of a 20th century wool blanket looks back at you. Men’s ties are stitched into patterns on hand-made cushioned footstools and the world of upholstery is given an imaginative reworking via the seat of an old wooden chair. Beautiful Necessities honours the rich and humble detail of everyday life. Don’t miss it. The exhibition Beautiful Necessities opens on Friday 29 August 2014 at 6.30 pm at ACDC, 33 Marine Terrace.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 05:54:25 +0000
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