Threads Reclaimed
Threads Reclaimed | Solo Exhibition
m2 Gallery, Surry Hills NSW
5 - 18 Oct, 2022
5 - 18 Oct, 2022
Threads Reclaimed is an exhibition about identity, Culture, and Country. It is about knowledges given, stolen and reclaimed. Threads of knowledges are stitched into the works both symbolically and physically; a patchwork that connects places and people. Snippets of language and stories stitched together across time, connect past, present and future. Knowledges that are both private and cultural at the same time.
As a child I learned sewing and textile skills by watching my mother. She learned by watching her mother. An improvisational and intuitive seamstress, my mother is as skilled at hand sewing and crocheting as she is on the sewing machine. I sat on the floor in the messy sewing room chatting to her while she deftly moved the fabric beneath the whirring needle, stitching and knotting her work into existence. As an adult I sat by the Barwon River with Elders and learned ancient weaving practices. For thousands of years, my ancestors cared for this Country. Sitting on the same earth - the Land my grandmother was born on - I listen to Country and share stories with the women while we work the grasses and raffia into existence". - Dr Virginia Keft |
Virginia Keft, 'Country is what we can and cannot see' (detail), 2022. Mixed media.
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The works in this exhibition traverse what it means to be a Murrawarri woman born and raised off-Country - attempting to maintain Culture that is deeply tied to place and Community whilst living afar. Virginia Keft, takes inspiration from the natural world. Her home on Dharawal Country and the Eastern Grey Flying Foxes that inhabit this place feature in Virginia's artworks. Her practice encompasses painting, drawing, mixed media assemblage, textiles, weaving and sculpture.
Virginia Keft, 'Country is what we can and cannot see', 2022. Mixed media.
