ART COLLECTION
Dulka Warngiid (Land of All)
Level 2 Foyer
TAPESTRY COMMISSION
Realising Dame Elisabeth's long-held wish, Melbourne Recital Centre has commissioned the Victorian Tapestry Workshop to transform a significant contemporary indigenous painting, recently acquired by the National Gallery of Victoria, into a monumental new artwork. The tapestry is based on the 2 metre x 6 metre painting, Dulka Warngiid (Land of All) by seven women artists from Bentinck Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Dulka Warngiid (Land of All)
| Title: | Dulka Warngiid (Land of All) 2007 |
| Medium: | Synthetic polymer paint on linen |
| Format: | Stretched |
| Size: | 199 x 605 cm |
| Collection: | The collection of the National Gallery of Victoria |
The painting Dulka Warngiid (Land of All) is a collaborative work by seven women artists from Bentinck Island, in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The artists are based at Mornington Island Arts and Craft in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland.
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The artists are:
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They say of their work, "We each painted our country area which was special for us. Our painting is all of our country. That's what the title means - country, place, land - land of all. We really enjoyed doing it as a group. We are very proud of our big painting."
The various areas of the work were painted as indicated:
Victorian Tapestry Workshop
In the 14th century, woven tapestries provided succour to both mind and body through their beauty and warmth. The 16th and 17th centuries saw the artform rise to prominence via the celebrated Gobelin, Fontainebleu and Aubusson workshops, while the late 19th century embraced the oeuvre of William Morris.
The Victorian Tapestry Workshop (VTW) opened in 1976 and quickly gained a reputation as a flagship of the modern era. Tapestry was a natural 'fit' because of the country's early status as a great wool-producing nation.
The VTW is unique in its philosophy of an integrated approach to creating artworks, in which artists and weavers collaborate as equals. The Workshop's emphasis on working with living artists has led to collaborations with Arthur Boyd, John Coburn and John Olsen as well as international artists.
A tapestry is never simply an imitation of an artwork in another medium. Fine artists in their own right, the weavers blend the old and the new. Working by hand in the traditional 14th century Gobelin style, they translate and interpret using specially spun Australian wool dyed in-house with a palette of 366 colours to create entirely new artworks.
Most of the commissions from the VTW have been for public spaces. They hang in hotel lobbies, boardrooms, chapels, schools and hospitals, the foyers of performing arts centres and gallery complexes, and in Australia's Houses of Parliament. Tapestries are also hung in selected embassies and high commissions. Works have been exhibited as far afield as Singapore, the US, the UK, India, Denmark, Istanbul, Japan and Russia.
The VTW hosts several artists-in-residence each year. It also hosts CAE weaving classes and bi-weekly public access tours. Exhibitions of tapestry are held at the Workshop throughout the year as well as touring exhibitions which travel interstate and overseas.
Click here to find out more about the Victorian Tapestry Workshop
Hugh DT Williamson Foundation
The three main aims of the Hugh DT Williamson Foundation are to benefit the needy, encourage initiative and enhance the lives of Victorians. The foundation will consider any proposal for innovative and original programs which seek to meet, in a significant way, the needs of the people of Victoria. The fields considered are health, human services, educational, environmental and cultural. Major projects supported by the Foundation include:
- in 1990 initiating and funding the Williamson Community Leadership Program fully for its first three years, and remaining a major financial supporter ever since
- establishment of The Australian Centre at the University of Melbourne in 1989 to conduct research into Australian culture and society
- the restoration of the Memorial Theatre (now Her Majesty's) in Ballarat, home of the Royal South Street Music Competitions
- an endowment to the National Gallery of Victoria to commission and acquire contemporary works related to the City of Melbourne, to become the Hugh Williamson Collection
- support for the Orthotics Department at The Royal Children's Hospital
- the establishment of a Gait Laboratory at the Royal Children's Hospital
- the establishment of the Williamson Centre in Collingwood, in association with the Jesuit Social Services, to facilitate the rehabilitation of adolescents and young adults with drug and psychological problems
- grants to small rural projects throughout Victoria
- the Bookmark Biosphere Program, related to salinisation in the Murray Darling Basin.
Williams Room
Level 1 VIP Room
FRED WILLIAMS - LITHOGRAPHS (1976 - 1978)
The works exhibited in this room are from a series of 12 lithographs made by the artist and printed by Druckma Press. They relate to major paintings of the period, exhibited during 1977 and 1978. They were first exhibited at the Rudy Komon Gallery, Sydney and the Realities Gallery, Melbourne in mid-1978.
These six words are from the set of Artist's Proofs number 7 of 12, signed and numbered by the artist and from his personal collection.
The works are Copyright: The Estate of Fred Williams.
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1. Werribee Gorge I 2. Werribee Gorge II 3. Kelly's Creek, Werribee Gorge 4. Dry Creek Bed, Werribee Gorge 5. Wild Dog Creek I 6. Wild Dog Creek II |
During 1976 and 1977 Williams made many painting trips to Werribee Gorge National Park, west of Melbourne.
He had several favourite sites there where he liked to work. Another favourite site was Wild Dog Creek at St. Andrews, north of Melbourne. He painted there several times in 1977.
He enjoyed the rugged, unchanged character of these places, untouched by farming or later residential development yet easily accessible from home.
