Household waste has become art in a new exhibition at Page Blackie Gallery in Wellington.
For This Moment Has No End artist Marita Hewitt has taken worn bed linens, cloths, and tea towels and transformed them into handmade rag paper. This textured surface becomes the canvas for watercolour images of the sacrificed fabrics. Using photos for reference, Hewitt recreates the folds of the fabric, the worn out floral patterns and frayed edges, or the paint splatters on an old sheet that became a drop-sheet for home renovations.
The works are underpinned by an environmentally conscious ethos, and a sensitive and meticulous approach to materials and processes. Hewitt says, ‘My practice exists entwined with and through my home (itself a work in progress), I see my work as a natural autobiographical output of domestic life, curiosity and contention.’ For this exhibition she collected personal household fabrics to use ‘as both material and muse, presenting a library of stains with stories, from sheets to drop cloths, tea towels to rags and handed down muslin cloths, their constituent circular economy as paintings is earnest.’
Lily Hacking from Page Blackie Gallery says she’s excited about sharing Marita’s work which she describes as ‘delicate works’ that explore the syntax of waste, and offer poignant insights into the artist’s life. Of Hewitt she says, ‘She is so genuine and considered in her approach to making and her commitment to finding her own way toward a sustainable practice.’
Marita Hewitt: This Moment Has No End
Page Blackie Gallery, Wellington
Until 27 July
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