Joanna Campbell and Rowan Panther - Networking
13 - 27 February 2016
Lace was once a highly prized currency, smuggled across borders hidden in live animals, food and even caskets. But mechanization rapidly devalued both the skill of lace-making and lace itself, machines made lace faster and more precisely. Gradually, the craft of hand-made lace has largely been forgotten.
Joanna Campbell and Rowan Panther met in 2015, while working on a locally produced mini series for MTV. After working together they discovered a mutual interest and passion for lace. Joanna is well known for her textile-inspired designs, and embossing antique lace in her work. Rowan makes both ornamental and wearable pieces from muka fibre she laces herself. In their first collaborative exhibition together, the two have merged their practices to form a series of brooches and bangles, bringing a contemporary relevance to the centuries old art form.
The lace created for this exhibition is based on 10 common reseau* patterns from between the 17th and 19th centuries. Rowan studied the patterns, and painstakingly wove each piece over three months, Joanna then preserves some of the pieces by setting them in silver brooches, and embossing the delicate patterns into the more permanent silver surface of the bangles.
See more work by Joanna Campbell