Jamieson, Renate (AUS)
The Mantle of Artistic Faith
Renate is based in Western Australia, and although she has no formal training in the arts, she is a highly awarded wearable art practitioner and costume designer/creator. She also practises crochet, mosaics and loves to upcycle/recycle/repurpose materials (specialising in refinishing/reinventing/reupholstering small household items and furnishings).
The Mantle of Artistic Faith was one of two works Renate had accepted into Paper on Skin™ 2024.
“The Mantle of Artistic Faith is designed to portray my ongoing faith and commitment of sharing creativity with the wearable art community.
To symbolise creative passion, four vestment-like garments have been designed to produce a quasi-religious silhouette. The purpose of the silhouette is to express the spirituality I experience from being part of the wearable art community.
Inspiration came from YouTube tutorials which have become like my scriptures. The ensemble was created in my studio which is akin to a personal creative temple.
This art piece is shared with the wearable art community which is not unlike a beloved parish of like-minded souls. Creativity is a powerful form of sanctuary and a wonderful opportunity to practice devotion.
It is also an invitation to act, belong and commit and as someone living with anxiety and social phobias it’s an opportunity for self-expression which I gratefully embrace.” Extracts from Artist Statement.
Materials: 3900 paper kitchen towels were meditatively folded, rolled and coiled, the coils were then stitched together with a needle and 6500 metres of sewing thread.
Completion took approximately 650 hours.
See the Work on Film
Photos Credit: Grant Wells Photo