Conrad – 24/4/98
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| Season Reign – Annemiek Weterings (Click here for a larger version photo source:Nelson Mail) |
Please note: this article covers the 1997 New Zealand Wearable Art Awards only. For up to date information please visit the official Website for New Zealand’s International Wearable Art Awards
Twenty three year old Wellington artist Annemiek Wetering was the Supreme New Zealand Wearable Art Winner of 1997. Her work “Season Reign” was a sculptural piece depicting the mystery, wisdom, and power of trees. Created as a large cape, Annemiek spent over two hundred hours dyeing and sculpturing the gnarled ridges and hollows of the garment using primarily polar fleece as her material. It was an entry in the new “Super Revelations” Section which honours older New Zealanders and was worn by 62 year old Don Ramsay.
The ultimate art adventure explodes on stage this September. The New Zealand Wearable Art Awards celebrates its tenth anniversary on 24, 25, 26 September in Nelson’s Trafalgar Centre and public expectation is running high.
Ticket sales opened on February 23, in Nelson. Queues of up to two hundred people waited in the rain for tickets and three days later all tickets had sold. This phenomenal rush on tickets has prompted the organisers to extend show’s traditional two night season to include Thursday 24 September.
A limited number of tickets have also been held back to ensure entrants have the opportunity to attend and travel packages have been set aside through Air New Zealand and Nelson Tourism Services. The success of the Awards lies in its unique appeal to entrants and its exhilarating presentation. It celebrates and encourages all art disciplines and over the years entrants have not only grasped the infinite possibilities for themselves, but have also led the event organisers in new directions of discovery.
Dragon Fish by designer Susan Holmes is an outstanding example of the New Zealand Wearable Art Awards concept. The starting point for many of Susan’s artworks is in her garage. It is her ideas library – but instead of books there’s piles of fabric and the rare treasures of a hundred Auckland garage sales.
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| Total Recall – Katrina and Chris Clarkson and Tim Marshall (Click here for a larger version photo source:Nelson Mail) |
It is here that collected bundles of split cane sparked the beginnings of Susan’s new concept. The cane was married with hand dyed silk and reformed basketry and the Supreme Wearable Art Award winner of 1996 – Dragon fish – was born.
There are Nine categories to enter within the Awards which allow freedom in concept and materials. The Recycle Redress category is one which sees a lot of humour. “Total Recall” the winner of this section in 1996 showed superb understanding of the theme and witty use of materials. Made entirely of phone parts, Total Recall is the work of Christchurch artists – Katrina and Chris Clarkson and Tim Marshall and this intergalactic phone warrior won the hearts of Asian spectators during a “Best of New Zealand Wearable Art Mini Show” which performed in Bangkok and Singapore last year.
The imaginative use of unusual materials is evident in the Awards.Take the garment “Feather and Scale”, designed by Mandy Preston and Dominique de Borrekens of Nelson. This art work uses salmon fish skins to portray the new age business suit for men.
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| Feather & Scale – Dominique de Borrekens and Mandy Preston (Click here for a larger version photo source:Nelson Mail) |
The artists explain that the garment reflects “the strong climate of our multi-cultural land and illustrates recent business ventures between Maori and Pakeha groups.”
Feather & Scale won the Creative Excellence Award in the 1997 New Zealand Wearable Art Awards.
Entry forms are now available for the tenth New Zealand Wearable Art Awards which offer a prize pool of around $50,000 making the event one of New Zealand’s richest art competitions.
The 1998 event will be preceded by a special historic exhibition of some of the top garments at Te Papa – the National Museum of New Zealand and a gallery tour of selected garments is also planned. Event Creator/Director Suzie Moncrieff says this additional national exposure will bring well deserved recognition for the artists and designers involved.
This article is reprinted from Presto magazine (available on dead tree in Christchurch) with permission. The photos are republished with permission by Nelson Mail and New Zealand Wearable Art.
For more information visit the official Website for New Zealand’s International Wearable Art Awards
