Forever Now: a timeless exhibition by an acclaimed artist

An exhibition of selected work from prize-winning textile artist Barbara Schey, Forever Now, will open at Newcastle’s Timeless Textiles Gallery in April.

Selected from works created by Schey over the last 25 years, the pieces in Forever Now showcase this acclaimed artist’s mastery of a diverse range of techniques, both within and beyond the Shibori genera.

Shibori is a Japanese word for wring or squeeze. It is used to describe techniques where a resist is used to leave a memory on cloth. One example of this technique is the glorious shawl, crafted from seven metres of silk shantung and decorated with garnets, which is featured in the Forever Now exhibition.

Some of the exhibition pieces have won prizes and others have been exhibited overseas including in China, Hong Kong, Japan, USA, Paris and the UK. A silver jacket won first prize at a prestigious craft show, a black shawl has travelled around Thailand. A red silk jacket reflects Schey’s practical side, as she raised four children on a mixed farm near Tamworth.

“I was reared in the days when ‘waste not, want not’ and ‘make do and mend’ were popular mantras,” she said. “I used my Shibori scraps to make soft flowers to decorate the detachable collar on the coat, which is constructed from handwoven silk from Laos.”

Schey’s handwoven lacy jackets were inspired by her extensive travels in Thailand. Purchasing a small loom, she wove 150 to 185 squares for each jacket as she travelled. The jackets have been widely exhibited (and collected) in Japan and Australia. The smaller of the jackets on show was selected for The Lace for Fashion Exhibition at the Power House Museum, Sydney.

Also represented in Forever Now is a paper kimono made for an exhibition at The Palm House Gallery in Sydney Botanic Garden. A triple-layered kimono has a layer made from lame, with metallic thread treated to form a geometric pattern. The next is eco-printed with Australian gum leaves and overdyed, and the top layer is silk organza, treated with Arashi Shibori technique to allow the lower layers to show through. The small 30cm square pieces were made in response to exhibitions where ease of transport (post) was required.

The Forever Now exhibition runs at Timeless Textiles from 11 April to 6 may 2018, opening on Thursday, 12 April.