The exhibition titled ‘In The Fibre Of Her Being’ contemplates the role of women as anonymous carriers and preservers of heritage. With fibre as their dialect, these artists speak to their personal and collective histories, exploring legacies of womanhood, female subjectivity, diaspora, resilience, and community. The transference of intergenerational knowledge underpins the exhibition. It is through these familial and gendered lineages, that the artists navigate their cultural and hybridised identities, and by extension their sense of self and being.

We are honoured to showcase alongside an exceptional group of artists and revisit Fairfield; a community based in South-Western Sydney where we were born and raised. Our new work titled ‘THE PASSAGE’ celebrates the transformative shift in our sibling relationship and builds upon our approach to soft sculpture and dimensionality.

Exhibition Curator: Sarah Rose

Artists: Atong Atem, Crossing Threads®, Monika Cvitanovic Zaper, Paula do Prado, Julia Gutman, Nadia Hernández, Kate Just, Linda Sok, and the Tjanpi Desert Weavers

Opening hours: 10am - 4pm Tuesday to Friday, 10am - 2pm Saturday
(closed Sundays, Mondays and all public holidays)
Fairfield City Museum and Gallery Website
Email: fcmg@fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au
Phone: 02 9725 0190

What is the concept behind this work?

Titled ‘THE PASSAGE’, this multi-layered pair of soft sculptures are circular in form, representing the womb, return to self, and notions of totality. Co-created by the Hernandez sisters as they enter the life stage of motherhood, it speaks to the dynamic, yet positive shift in their relationship as siblings. With their emotionally charged relationship defined by degrees of intimacy, these fibrous organisms, though displayed as a pair, can still each exist on their own. Linked by a figurative umbilical cord, the impending birth is deepened through shared maternal guardianship. Notably, this chain is deliberately unfixed and can be detached setting both organisms free; in turn, reframing each as their own separate entity and individual story. Layers of handwoven panels of hemp, leather and tussah silk overlap and intersect, embodying the nature of the uterine wall and the physical bodily changes experienced throughout pregnancy. The technique of reedless weaving and absence of warp regulation symbolises the ever-changing roles Lauren, Kass and their familial relationships will have to navigate when they meet the baby earthside. Sprawling throughout the layers are fragments of a root system, evidential of familial history intertwined in supporting this seed of life. The placental change is both confronting and transformative, learning to accept surrender, in enabling the siblings to break generational patterns and re-weave the next phase together. In honoring the matriarchy, traditional of Filipino culture, vulvic forms embody the pain, pleasure, and lifeforce of a woman and mother. Being first-generation Australians to immigrant Filipino parents, the artists hold the belief that their ‘anak’ (meaning child in Tagalog) will also present the opportunity to reconcile their identity of both cultures and create a new future state. ‘THE PASSAGE’ draws parallels with the Hernandez sisters’ unrelenting connection and self- perpetual cycles to ripen in life.

Artwork Specs: Diameter 900mm (35’’) and Diameter 700mm (30’), depth approximately 100mm (4’’)

Materials: Bamboo, chenille, organic Egyptian cotton, Fairtrade hemp, jute, leather, linen, mulberry tussah silk, botanically-dyed raffia, upcycled sari silk, and wire on galvanised steel frame

Handwoven by Lauren and Kass Hernandez, Crossing ThreadsⓇ © All Rights Reserved.

IN THE PRESS