Connecting and Interpreting : Story #4 from the ATASDA Collaborative Golden Cape

Background :
This year, 2024, ATASDA ( Australian Textile Arts and Surface Design Association) is celebrating its Golden Anniversary. The Collaborative Golden Cape is a celebratory garment representing 50 years of creativity in textile arts.
Members of ATASDA have joined together to create a beautiful cape comprising of 50 art panels inspired by 50 past ATASDA artworks. Each contribution to the Cape is a personal response to its corresponding historic artwork and its story. The Golden Cape, embellished with these beautiful cameos of textile art and surface design, will travel and be displayed throughout Australia.

Parrwang:

Jo-Anne Britt drew inspiration for her contribution to the cape from the 1987 work by Bobbie Winger . This was a dramatic wearable textile artwork, entitled , "Dancing Cloak for a Currawong". The limited colour palette and the "feathery" form of the cloak really appealed to Jo-Anne and it's easy to see this attraction, even from this archived photo.

Dancing Cloak for a Currawong : Bobbie Winger 1987

Living on Wadawurrung land, Jo-Anne chose to interpret Bobbie's work by featuring the parrwang (magpie). The black and white might have been obvious, but Jo-Anne took the concept further and the colours she has included in her palette reflect the Australian magpie's eggs and the vast blue sky as contrasts. I think these are brilliant choices which add to the parrwang's narrative.

Parrwang : Jo-Anne Britt 2023

This completed panel for the collaborative cape shows careful consideration of materials and techniques and attention to detail before the abstraction of the parrwang wing feathers.

Jo-Anne researched and sketched the parrwang wings, transferring the shapes onto silk fabric. Further details were created with fabric paints and free machine stitching.

When the entire piece was stitched, Jo-Anne cut shapes again and re-assembled an embellished abstract interpretation of the parrwang wing feathers.

This is a such thoughtful textile artwork which so aptly celebrates the golden anniversary. Because the parrwang (magpie) is a highly adaptable bird that can thrive in a variety of environments, this has made it a symbol of adaptability and resilience. Jo-Anne's interpretation shows not only her skill and creativity but also her love and respect of her natural surroundings and indigenous Dreamtime. This artwork looks stunning as part of the Golden cape ( see lower right in the photo)

Collaborative Golden Cape ( front) ATASDA 2023-2024

Other stories in this series. Please check them out if you haven't already.

Story #1

Story #2

Story #3

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