[THESE PAGES CONTAIN ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN ART BOOKS.]

Tapestry’s Global Reach
[Published in ‘Many Hands: The First 40 Years of the Australian Tapestry Workshop’, by HarperCollins for ATW, 2016.  Text © Australian Tapestry Workshop/Ian Were]

The ATW is an international leader in contemporary tapestry — one of only a handful in the world for the production of contemporary, handwoven tapestries. During four decades the workshop has established an international reputation through commissions, exhibitions, residencies and exchanges . . .
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Diorama
[‘Diorama’ was published for the exhibition of the same name at Wollongong City Gallery, 2013. Text © Wollongong City Gallery/Ian Were]

Dioramas have been created by artists over the years to tell a story, and storytelling is, after all, what art is essentially about. ‘We are a species driven by narrative’, said film director Steven Soderbergh recently . . .
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It’s an international thing
[Published in the exhibition publication ‘Designing Craft/Crafting Design: 40 Years of JamFactory’, 2013. © JamFactory/Ian Were]

For 40 years Adelaide’s JamFactory has been presenting outstanding exhibitions and public programs, along with nurturing the careers of artists, craftspeople and designers, both nationally and internationally, with gusto. Why has the Jam survived so well?
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Kapa kuiki: Hawaiian quilts
[Published in the exhibition publication ‘Threads: Contemporary Textiles and the Social Fabric’, 2011. © Queensland Art Gallery/Ian Were]

Kapa: Barkcloth or tapa, as made from wauke (paper mulbery) bark; formerly clothes of any kind or bedclothes; quilt. Thus kapa moe (barkcloth bed covers) and kapa lau (appliqued designs). Kuiku: Quilting; to quilt.   [More]

Artwork to tapestry: What is contemporary tapestry?
[Published in the exhibition publication ‘Artwork to Tapestry’, 2011. © TarraWarra Museum of Art/Ian Were.]

Geoffrey Ricardo, Emblem, 1999. © The artist/ ATW

What is contemporary tapestry? ‘Well, it is . . . a coarse, vigorous organic fabric . . . It is heavy with matter and heavy with meaning. But it is  more, it is heavy with intentions. It is this which secures its magnificence to  man and therefore to the building.’
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Bui Cong Khanh: Contemporary story
[Published in the exhibition publication ‘The 6th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’, 2009. © Queensland Art Gallery/Ian Were]

Bùi Công Khánh’s painted porcelain vessels feature the ubiquitous sights and sounds of Vietnamese daily life: motorbike riders, street signage, advertising and romantic interludes. By combining what he calls ‘the character of the present’ with the traditional  form of the porcelain vase, Bùi places the culture of modern life into the flow of history.
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