About the Award: New to 2020, the award is designed to recognise talent and encourage the pursuit of the artform.
Denise Lamby (QLD)
‘New Life’
Denise Lamby 'New Life' Image: Grant Wells Photo
About the piece
‘New Life’ was inspired by the artist asking the question, as she hovered her used teabag over the compost bin, ‘Does life end here…?’ More questions followed: ‘How do I transform a screwed up, soggy teabag into tactile, useable construction material? When does life start and end?’ ‘What is ‘life’?
The result is ‘New Life’, a work of prodigious effort comprising over 3000 discarded teabags that Denise has repurposed in a variety of ways.
The bodice has been constructed using traditional paper making techniques from shredded teabag pulp. The skirt is comprised of 1800 paper teabag tags with strings in-tact to add detail and interest. The necklace feature is made from teabag tags, each laced together. After meticulously extracting the tea from teabags, Denise has dried the bags, making a unique, gravity-defying headdress from the resulting feather-light, paper tissue canvases.
The headpiece is constructed using a traditional book binding technique, weaving the delicate tea bag papers together with toothpicks. The colourful inner headpiece of additional tea bag tags marries with the colours in the skirt to bring the piece together.
Accessories complete the work including a kaleidoscopic, sea urchin shaped ring, made from recycled paper using traditional paper beading techniques. The spectacular shoes are augmented with vertical hand rolled paper straws upcycled from the pages of an old book.
Judges notes
Refreshing welcome as a cup of tea this collection of many wearable objects induces smiles. As well as the strappy skirt, softly molded teabag bodice and other funky accessories, the straw shoes are inspirational.
The swish and flow of tea-bag-tag skirt allows the model to move light-heartedly with the promise of a full swirl if the she was to pirouette. In this delightful thought-provoking work, Denise Lamby asks us to question our discards: Does this object/packaging/thing have to end its life at the bin?
Denise Lamby with the shoes for 'New Life'. Image: Denise Lamby.
About the artist
Denise is an Award-winning artist, photographer and author. Through her practice, Denise aims to encourage the viewer to look at everyday objects from a different angle and challenge one’s perspective on life itself. Denise calls herself a ‘sustainable artist’, giving everyday objects a second and sometimes third chance at life. With experience across many artistic mediums, Denise does not shy away from labour intensive techniques. It is common for her works to take weeks or months to complete.
When not in her studio making and/or preparing recycled materials, Denise facilitates workshops on creativity and has participated in numerous Artist in Residence programs. Since 2015 Denise has authored a series of ‘Beyond Colouring In’ books. They offer practical exercises designed to inspire others to find their own individual creativity.
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