Monday 2 March 2009

planeta


in 2001 i was invited to take part in a fortnight-long residency at Zvartava Castle [more of a Manor, really] in the north of Latvia [the beautiful country of my mother and grandmother]



on the journey there i met my friend Anette. for the past eight years we've been nourishing a creative friendship through emails [aah, the magic of the internet pixies] and the occasional parcel. some time in 2007 we began to plan an exhibition. Ararat Regional Gallery kindly offered to host the only Australian exposition which opened on February 26th 2009.


Anette's works are small, considered and exquisite. the gallery allocated to her works provides a clean zen-like space for contemplation. the work invites close study...


to reach the place of zen one has to walk through a forest...of garments and of groundsheets that look as if there might be a sleeping body hidden underneath. one visitor to the opening told me next day that she kept expecting dancers to emerge and begin some sort of performance. it's a good idea, perhaps next time...


here's a detail of a groundsheet [above] ...which [disconcertingly] hangs on the wall [but without a deceptive shape within]



Ilka White [pictured at right] kindly did the honours and spoke poetically at the opening celebration. she talked about the complex simplicity of Anette's work and kindly mentioned my catchphrase [borrowed from J.R.R. Tolkien] "not all those who wander are lost"

Anette's and my work is very different, but we're singing harmonies from the same songsheet...the curatorial focus in this exhibition is not in the immediately visible... but in the common ground that our similar life philosophies walk...we chose the name 'planeta' as it's Latin and in itself common ground [rather than using an English+Danish title]. it means to journey or to travel as well as planet. further recent reading on a newly anointed 'blog of note' called "dear planetary astronomer Mike" offers more enlightenment...that in Greek planet also equates to 'wandering star'. which fits....

7 comments:

  1. What a fabulous melding of two creative forces...like a yin and a yang. So which are you?

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  2. i'm the scruffy one....not easily compartmentalized into either!

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  3. Zvartava must be a castle, it has a Rapunzel tower on the side!
    Your joint exhibition looks great, sorry we could not make it to the opening.

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  4. Congratulations on your show
    consistently amazed by your energy
    and inspired
    I'm scruffy too (what a good word)
    Scruffy is good
    one day for a special occasion
    I hope to commission one of your dresses
    and I will imagine
    I am a member of the West Australian Ballet Corps in the Australian Bush
    as I wear it
    One day...

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  5. Congratulations India!
    It is very interesting to see how different people interpret the same idea isn't it? but then we are all such different people wearing different glasses, we all have different experiences in our lives.
    I wish I was able to visit your exhibition. Is it possible to purchase a cataloque?

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  6. twisted dear i'd love to make you a frock..and Pamela Anne, i'm sorry but there wasn't a catalogue this time - maybe in time for the Danish exposition?

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  7. All lovely. Wish I could see Anette's words, and to see your lovely fabrics in person. Meanwhile, I console myself with your posts.

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