Jade Walsh

Jade Walsh

YOU THINK SEW

                                    Jade Walsh, N words for (red girl) 2011
                                     Thread, screenprint,acrylic on fabric
                                          
Opening night Drinks
Wednesday 23rd November 6-8pm

love is heartache is it? so far for me it is yeah are you serious? do you still have faith in it? always do you visualise it? Constantly I have scenarios... I must have about 15 a day but then I’ve got a pretty vivid imagination is it too hard to imagine your ultimate partner to end up with if you have not found him yet? No

Using metaphors of courtship, Jade Walsh is concerned  with transferring through the work, a sense of intimacy  and familiarity yet a vulnerability and discomfort in regard to love, longing and the brokenhearted. This work has been fueled by personal experiences and refers  especially to love songs, French literature and Aussie vernacular. Through working with a combination of processes and media i.e sewing, the layering of fabric,  and the printed /digital image, questions such as  ‘what to reveal/what not to reveal’’, are negotiated like the questions in social situations. She is interested in a notion of intimacy and the place where the private becomes public and that which  is ‘socially acceptable’. Through the work she attempts to reconcile difficulties such as displays of emotion and confessions, with objectivity and humour  through dialogue and use of layers. The work is an exploration of sentimental and female  values and cliches through the written word and the  constructed image. It is tactile, colourful, playful,  graphic and humourous. Materials are sourced  through the immediate environment, screenprints and mis-prints, salvaged off-cuts, leftovers remnants, reminiscent of out back of a fabric supplies warehouse or op-shop. Through laborious sewing into the night and the obsessive manual labour of the DIY, patterns, samples are blended and tulle, wallpaper, vinyl etc are combined through to subtly imitate digital ways of image  manipulation through a simplified manual approach.  She investigates found imagery sourced from  catalogues, encyclopaedias and pop culture  to recontextualise it. A zine will be on sale for the duration of the show.

Jade Walsh completed a B.A. in Graphic Design and a Master in Fine Arts at RMIT University. Since 2001 she has  had a number of individual shows (Kings ARI, Seventh Gallery, etc.) and participated in numerous group shows. She has been the  recipient of grants in Australia and was selected for internships and residencies in New York, Philadelphia  and in Belgium. She has also had experience as  guest teacher, lecturer and artist assistant. jadewalsh.com.au  Jade Walshe, 2011  Jade Walshe, 2011   Jade Walsh, 2011 .

Gallery address: The Library Artspace, 100 Barkly St Nth Fitzroy
Exhibition dates: November 23rd - December 17th
Gallery hours: Wednesday - Saturday 12-5pm
thelibraryartspace.blogspot.com