Anna Moran
Fort Street High School
FROM BROOME TO PERTH
Textile and Fibre
Oil on canvas, cotton embroidery
My body of work examines the vast, ancient landscape of Western Australia. Based on a range of sites explored during my travels from Broome to Perth, my intention was to convey a snapshot of the unique geological formations within these regions. Using both embroidery and oil mediums, my work juxtaposes the precise and meditative practice of creating traditional textiles with the versatility of painting to represent the rich pigments of some of the oldest rocks on Earth in their unique rugged grandeur.
My artmaking practice has been influenced by the study and interpretation of the following artists: Albert Namatjira, Claude Monet.
Marker's Commentary
From Broome to Perth is a masterful series of nine textile and fibre works complemented by four oil paintings. The work is strongly evocative of place, showcasing the strong, rich and earthy colours and dramatic textures of the Western Australian region. Three circular works are hand embroidered, with heavy texture and bold colour, depicting the wild coast and interior canyons unique to the area. Six delicate embroidery snapshots, framed in a manner reminiscent of polaroid photographs, offer up an intimate view into the environmental richness and diversity experienced through travel in these places.
The meditative practice of hand stitching on a small scale invites close viewing, requiring the audience to engage in an immersive intimacy with the soaring rock formations, undulating landscapes and wide open seas depicted in each of the works.
The expressive yarn work in the textured embroidery is echoed in the inclusion of oil paintings, connecting the tradition of landscape painting with the traditional handicraft of embroidery. From Broome to Perth offers the viewer a means to travel through these places in an immersive viewing experience exploring the soaring rock formations, undulating landscapes and wide open seas of Western Australia.