Emily Blom's exhibition Bound and Finely Woven at Handmark Gallery

Sarah Aquilina

Themes of femininity, purity and ceremony are entwined in Tasmanian artist Emily Blom's new exhibition, Bound and Finely Woven.

A fascination with Japanese boro textiles was the inspiration of Blom’s body of work, which is on display at Handmark Gallery.

Boro is an ancient tradition in which a domestic cloth is passed from one family member to the next, with each individual owner adding to the items wear and repair.

Each person uses fragments and scraps of rich indigo blues and traditional prints to repair and evolve the cloth’s form.

Our DNA, like the boro cloth, consists of many fragments, a genetic legacy which is constantly evolving and changing.- Artist Emily Blom

“I have begun to see many parallels between this tradition and the make-up of the human body and spirit,” Blom said.

“Our DNA, like the boro cloth, consists of many fragments, a genetic legacy which is constantly evolving and changing with each individual, a living link to the past that is woven into our very being.”

The colour palette Blom uses throughout her work is in reference to Japanese indigo textiles, and it is paired with traditional western needlework.

Femininity, purity and ceremony is embedded in the works through the gentle yet fiercely significant images of white lace.

“Each figure has been painted to evoke a sense of history and nostalgia, referencing early, hand coloured photography,” Blom said.

“Captured somewhat voyeuristically, as they braid, twist and weave their locks of hair, their private moments epitomising femininity and idealised beauty.”

This romantic notion of beauty is exposed as a facade when it is realised that the body is akin to a bird in a glided cage, bound to an unseen, uncontrollable genetic inheritance.

“The gilded threads act as veins that run through the paintings, weaving around and through the figures, mimicking braided strands of hair or the woven threads of the cloth from which the work is inspired,” Blom said.

“The strands ebb and flow around the figures, like the topographic lines on maps, perhaps mapping the past or the future.”

The meticulous glided patterns represent links to individual history, and the tie that binds people to their past. Bound and Finely Woven will be on the walls of Handmark Gallery until November 30.

It was a beautiful spring day in Evandale for the Opening of Bound and Finely Woven.

Some great photos of the event can be found on Handmark Gallery's Facebook Page.

Thanks to Mel De Ruyter for her fantastic photos

https://www.facebook.com/pg/Handmark-323081927141/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10153794970462142

Save the date: Sunday 6th November 2016

2016 has been a very busy year.

I have been working towards my solo show at Handmark, and subsequently my blog has been sadly neglected. So, this morning I am taking a brief break from my studio to give you a little taster of what is to come....

The show, entitled Bound and Finely Woven, contemplates the binds we have with the past and the duplicitous nature of this relationship. It is heavily influenced by traditional Japanese woodblock printing, and the tradition of boro textiles.

It will be a body of work rich in tones of indigo, with delicate fabric patterns and veins of gold leaf, all painstakingly gilded by hand.

I'm thrilled with the results, and look forward to the opening on Sun 6th November at Handmark in Evandale.

I hope to see you there!

It is very exciting to annouce that I have been selected as Handmark's Emerging Artist of 2015. From now on I will be represented by the wonderful Handmark team in both Hobart and Evandale. I am thrilled to be joing such a fantastic gallery!

I have been working tirelessly over the past year to produce the work for my solo show 'The Memory Palace'. The show opens on Friday 21 August at 6PM!

A preview of works will be available over the next few days....