An exhibition detailing the cross-cultural connections between the Southern Highlands and Scottish Highlands will head to the Fundemental gallery on August 12.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The exhibition Imperial Stockings by Mittagong artist Annemaree Dalziel, will be opened by Djon Mundine FAHA OAM on August 13 at 2pm.
Auntie Trish Levett, Gundungurra artist and holder of knowledge, will do a Welcome to Country at the opening.
In her Imperial Stockings exhibition, Annemaree Dalziel introduces seven pairs of beautiful hand-knitted long socks that incorporate texts and iconic images in their designs.
These Imperial Stockings are both contemporary artworks and conversation catalysts evoking historical and cross-cultural connections between the Southern Highlands and the Scottish Highlanders.
"The Imperial Stockings chronicle a story of loss. The Highland Clearances displaced Gaelic-speaking Scots to Australia in the 19th century," Annemaree said.
"Some settled in the Southern Highlands on land that - in a similar pattern - was acquired by the displacement of the Indigenous people living there.
"While the story of the Clearances is only one of many such stories reverberating worldwide across time and space, it is one that opened my eyes and heart to how I came to be an Australian, and what it might take to truly belong here.
"In telling this story of cultural grief and trauma, I am inviting people to join me in asking, 'What happened to all that grief?'
Embracing her regional context, Annemaree invited textile experts at the Goulburn Handweavers and Spinners Association to help with the knitting and she entered pairs of her socks in local agricultural shows.
Along with the exhibition, a series of walks will take place in Mittagong with participants "putting on the socks" and having a conversation about their own experiences whether related to their Gaelic heritage or their feelings of displacement.
"The exhibition is drawing relationships between history, memory and our bodies. Socks are such a bodily thing. I'm looking at the idea of history from the ground up. Walking is a way of connecting to memories that are no longer talked about," Annmaree said.
"Imperial Stockings is about hope. As anxiety skyrockets, and history seems to repeat itself, art can be a social act that heals through understanding."
Gallery director Sergei Netchaef said the theory behind Imperial Stockings was compelling.
'It is the first exhibition at Fundamental that forms part of an academic thesis - and it feels like a milestone in that regard," he said.
"Our vision has always been around how the arts can connect us as communities, and we have focused on exhibitions with local artists, as many regional galleries do.
"Annemaree is a local artist whose work extends way beyond the local region to makes the arts of far and distant regions relevant to us with shared narratives."
The exhibition will run until august 22, and the gallery is open from 10am to 5pm daily.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark our website
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Google News
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking news and regular newsletters