Catalogue Essay 2021 by Phe Luxford
As an artform collage necessitates a very particular way of looking at the world, or more specifically, of looking at the smaller, individual elements that make up the whole. It requires of an artist the ability to become a kind of gleaner, gathering up and storing away any small item that seems to speak to them with resonant possibility. Driven by an inclination to fashion some new narrative from seemingly unrelated aspects of the real world, collage tends to result in unique and often surprising hybrid amalgams of subjects, styles and cultures.
While most typically sourced from the pages of old books, journals or magazines, for Melbourne artist Ann Ryan inspiration lies within the snipped cast offs, faded keepsakes and once loved garments collected from both her own life and bestowed upon her by friends and family. Within the glass cabinets that line the walls of her studio, boxes, plastic containers and bags burst with textile remnants, each sorted and labelled according to pattern, print, texture or the whim of the artist.
Ryan possesses an innate feeling for the quality and value of textiles. Her many years working within retail fashion has allowed her to observe the shifting qualities of style and fashion movements and affords her an insight into both the beauty of things well made and the tragic waste that occurs within the industry. The act of repurposing her textile elements serves as a means to embrace the ethics of the slow fashion movement and creates opportunities to celebrate the significant role textiles play within both personal and shared social histories.
While most typically sourced from the pages of old books, journals or magazines, for Melbourne artist Ann Ryan inspiration lies within the snipped cast offs, faded keepsakes and once loved garments collected from both her own life and bestowed upon her by friends and family. Within the glass cabinets that line the walls of her studio, boxes, plastic containers and bags burst with textile remnants, each sorted and labelled according to pattern, print, texture or the whim of the artist.
Ryan possesses an innate feeling for the quality and value of textiles. Her many years working within retail fashion has allowed her to observe the shifting qualities of style and fashion movements and affords her an insight into both the beauty of things well made and the tragic waste that occurs within the industry. The act of repurposing her textile elements serves as a means to embrace the ethics of the slow fashion movement and creates opportunities to celebrate the significant role textiles play within both personal and shared social histories.
Fabric by its very nature is intrinsically linked to the human experience, providing comfort, protection and self expression. Each item holds within it stories of lives lived, of past relationships, of places or significant events. Attune to these histories, Ryan playfully juxtaposes divergent patterns and colours, textures and yarns to invent characters and narratives that transform these disparate elements into new retellings.
Slowly and methodically tacked together with intentionally large stitches and visible loose threads, patterns of silky flowers coalesce with the coarse thread of upholstery, tropical fish swim alongside scraps of summery cotton and waratahs and watermelons precariously balance on top of silhouettes fashioned from tourist tea towels.
This process of layering and manipulation results in images that are at once discreetly humorous and achingly beautiful. Her cast of goddesses, nymphs and nobility possess a kind of trans-global aesthetic, in part due to the diversity of fabrics being brought together. With the fecundity of Botticelli’s Primavera, the finery and elegance of a Rococo portrait and the retro carnival spirit of Carmen Miranda each figure speaks of an inner life full of memories, dreams and possibilities.
Through the act of reclaiming, repurposing and valuing what might otherwise have been tossed aside, Ryan has managed to manifest new life and meaning. It is this ability to find kernels of possibility and pleasure within small unrelated parts that make her textile collages so very pleasing. Her images celebrate the many detailed fragments that come together to form a richly woven and jubilant experience of life.
Slowly and methodically tacked together with intentionally large stitches and visible loose threads, patterns of silky flowers coalesce with the coarse thread of upholstery, tropical fish swim alongside scraps of summery cotton and waratahs and watermelons precariously balance on top of silhouettes fashioned from tourist tea towels.
This process of layering and manipulation results in images that are at once discreetly humorous and achingly beautiful. Her cast of goddesses, nymphs and nobility possess a kind of trans-global aesthetic, in part due to the diversity of fabrics being brought together. With the fecundity of Botticelli’s Primavera, the finery and elegance of a Rococo portrait and the retro carnival spirit of Carmen Miranda each figure speaks of an inner life full of memories, dreams and possibilities.
Through the act of reclaiming, repurposing and valuing what might otherwise have been tossed aside, Ryan has managed to manifest new life and meaning. It is this ability to find kernels of possibility and pleasure within small unrelated parts that make her textile collages so very pleasing. Her images celebrate the many detailed fragments that come together to form a richly woven and jubilant experience of life.