Design Now! was an exhibition at the Melbourne Museum is an annual exhibition that presents the work of outstanding graduates from applied art and design courses nationwide. There was a broad range of designs that were shown from furniture to jewelry to embroidery. The exhibition was very spacious which allowed you study the artworks in great detail however the lighting was a bit of an issue, it only highlighted the artworks which created a lot of shadows so it was hard to tell if this look is what the artists were aspiring to achieve.
One design that I really liked was by a student from the University of South Australia called Harrah Wright. Her artwork titled “Your Threads Are Showing” was completed in 2008. The artwork showed a series of phrases and images of a girl’s face and hands placed carefully on the wall that have been created by embroidery. Although the front of the embroided pieces are tight and neat, the threads are left flowing out the back.
There are nine phrases in the artwork and this is what they say as they descend down the wall:
“She’s a lot like you”
“She can do no wrong”
“She is the only”
“She knows how”
“She won’t let it”
“She said it’s easy”
“She takes”
“She used to be”
“She sees what she wants”
Next to these phases are the following embroided images from bottom going up the wall:
A hand reaching up out of darkness
Hand over face
A face half covered in shadows
Shadowed face hiding behind hands
Face looking up, slightly happy expression
Face, very light at the top
It appears as the images descend down the wall they appear to get darker and more hidden by the hands. It shows the subject is slowly falling into a downward spiral of darkness. I feel that when she depicts the subject with hands over her face, I think she is attempting to shield herself from doubt and pain. But the last image of her face is nearly completely covered in shadows, almost like she has accepted her fate.
I think that by having the loose threads of cotton hanging out the back of the images and phrases, the artist is trying to show that the person and phrases put on a strong and sturdy portrayal on the outside to try and be defensive again attacks. But the small and frail threads that make up this front are really weak and lifeless. The phrases have a positive outlook, but are just as frail and fake as the person it is trying to comfort.
One design that I really liked was by a student from the University of South Australia called Harrah Wright. Her artwork titled “Your Threads Are Showing” was completed in 2008. The artwork showed a series of phrases and images of a girl’s face and hands placed carefully on the wall that have been created by embroidery. Although the front of the embroided pieces are tight and neat, the threads are left flowing out the back.
There are nine phrases in the artwork and this is what they say as they descend down the wall:
“She’s a lot like you”
“She can do no wrong”
“She is the only”
“She knows how”
“She won’t let it”
“She said it’s easy”
“She takes”
“She used to be”
“She sees what she wants”
Next to these phases are the following embroided images from bottom going up the wall:
A hand reaching up out of darkness
Hand over face
A face half covered in shadows
Shadowed face hiding behind hands
Face looking up, slightly happy expression
Face, very light at the top
It appears as the images descend down the wall they appear to get darker and more hidden by the hands. It shows the subject is slowly falling into a downward spiral of darkness. I feel that when she depicts the subject with hands over her face, I think she is attempting to shield herself from doubt and pain. But the last image of her face is nearly completely covered in shadows, almost like she has accepted her fate.
I think that by having the loose threads of cotton hanging out the back of the images and phrases, the artist is trying to show that the person and phrases put on a strong and sturdy portrayal on the outside to try and be defensive again attacks. But the small and frail threads that make up this front are really weak and lifeless. The phrases have a positive outlook, but are just as frail and fake as the person it is trying to comfort.
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