About the exhibition

At the heart of the exhibition and the Artist’s research is the exploration of ‘women’s work’ – needlework techniques and other textile techniques (m)aligned with females, including embroidery, knitting, crochet, and binding – and the inherent materiality of these mediums beyond their obvious aesthetic attributes.

The exhibition artworks and installations created from found objects, handmade textiles, and digital photography are tactile and engaging. Material Matters reflects on the process, meanings and potential strength contained in textile traditions and processes, being aware of textile tropes and the potential for making meaning through their disruption.

By merging the history, materiality and sensuality of textiles with the advances of digital technology, this exhibition offers a rich language for self-expression and contemplation. Notions of impermanence, contingency and the fragility of our natural environment are also addressed. Digital mediums function as lines of communication which are woven together, like threads, to connect the subject and viewer.

Artists

Kay S Lawrence

Resources

Material Matters: Interview between Louise Martin-Chew and artist, Kay S Lawrence

Material Matters: education resource
Download

Tour dates

Acknowledgements

Material Matters was a touring exhibition in partnership between Kay S Lawrence and Museums & Galleries Queensland. It was supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, and by the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, state and territory governments.