Voorpostel, Derek (AUS, Tasmania),
Butterfly

Since 1996 I have been prac1cing in some form of fibre arts, primarily Ba1k and Shibori. I have had an on-going fascina1on with resist dying. This has led me to explore the Asian cultures of Indonesia and Japan. These two respective cultures are the masters of resist dying technique. Traditionally, these repeat patterns of wax and dye are representa1ve of a person’s standing in their respective communities and for celebration and ceremony.

What I have loved most is to push the boundaries of the tradition to respectfully create my own stories of modern mythology. I have also worked on shibori pieces, silk and cotton to create great designs for practical use, ie table cloths, shirts and T shirts.

Since 2021,I have been working with recycled fabrics predominantly with granny blankets sewn in large sections to cover what would be considered benign every day large objects.

My other passion, I have discovered is PAPER.

Creating  “In Honour Musushi” (2022) has been a revelation. The discipline of paper pulping and paper sculpting has, somewhat  just emerged, and it allows me to bring a finer skill set to my practice. I have been sculpting paper, from embossing flat sheets of paper pulp with ‘chaps’ to press realise moulds. This has led me to me next Paper on Skin entry.

In 2026 I have continued to pursue paper sculpture and attend paper making workshops at CREATIVE PAPER. We tailored the work shop to concentrate on recycled products to suite the mould production that I have created.

The current paper sculptures are of a blended paper consis1ng 75% of recycled hotel towels, which is pulped and made into paper. I have also been experimenting with different mould shapes and sizes and to see how they handle being under pressure with a with a four tone press.

https://www.instagram.com/derekjohnart/