Handbook

This course explores the relationship between textiles, time and memory within contemporary art practice. You will develop strategies to work with and respond to objects held in collections and archives to extend research for contemporary art textiles practice. These repositories will be explored in their various forms and guises as a form of preserving, displaying and thinking about historical and culturally significant artifacts and their relationship to contemporary practice.

Cloth, textiles and related objects held within these collections will be researched for the archival and documentary qualities in conjunction with the related social, historical and cultural contexts in which it exists. The unique qualities of cloth as a carriage for time and memory will be investigated as creative platforms within current contemporary art practice.

Studio workshops will allow students to experiment in fabric dye and hand printing techniques. Through class lectures, readings and an excursion to a textile collection, students will be introduced to a range of local, international and digitized collections such as the MCA Library, Powerhouse Museum, Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, National Library of Australia and the Victoria & Albert Museum. 

Assessment in this course includes research tasks, workshop experimentation and realising projects that engage with the concepts developed from this activity. Assessment will also include a studio journal to document the exploration of your ideas and reflections on research, technical and conceptual developments and the evaluation of your artworks. 

SDES2403 Textiles, Time and Memory and SDES2402 Textiles, Art and the Everyday are complementary 2nd year courses which together form the two x 2000 level core studies in the Textiles studio stream within the BFA program. These can also be taken as part of BMA. Together these courses prepare students for more advanced studies in the 3000 level courses in the Textiles stream. This course may also be taken as an elective where places are available.