Tasmanian Hearing and Implant Centre – Dr Kellie Walker’s Encouragement Award – for recognition of talent and to encourage pursuit of the artform $1000
Derek Voorpostel (AUS), In Honour Of Musashi (Ceremonial)
Derek Voorpostel (AUS), In Honour Of Musashi (Ceremonial)
ABOUT THE PIECE
This complex garment, involving months of painstaking work, is best explained by the artist himself: ‘I respectfully create my own stories of modern mythology. This ceremonial kimono represents strength. I use hexagons in reference to strength as the hexagon is the strongest natural structure known to man’.
‘The idea of this garment is to marry building construction methods with batik repeats, in Japanese dress code, giving rise to paper’.
‘Paper on Skin is a perfect opportunity to further practice fibre arts in a three-dimensional form. I am relishing the creative process of finding ways to deconstruct paper to mould and fashion for fabric, where I can incorporate repeat patterns.’
95% of the paper used is recycled from Derek’s recent storage and removal packaging after he relocated from Sydney to Launceston. The embossed paper comes from "CAPS" which are Indonesian repeat printing stamps for Batik.
Materials: Recycled butcher paper, tissue, newsprint, brown paper shopping bags. Recycled cardboard was used for the Geta. Paper twine. Rice paper. PVA glue. 6x3mm, nickel plated bolts.14 mm g4 brass screws.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Derek has an Associate Diploma in Fine Art, Textiles, Fibre Art and Jewellery Making from the University of Tasmania. His major disciplines are Batik and Shibori.
For four months in 2002, Derek was an Artist in Residence at the Bramah Tirta Sari Studio in Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia, where he studied traditional and contemporary Batik art.
Although Derek’s full-time career has been focused in the areas of mining, construction and transport, he has maintained his creative interests by undertaking short courses, collaborating with other teachers and artists, and continuing his Batik and Shibori samples.
JUDGES NOTES
From judge Greg Leong’s speech at the Gala Event and Award Evening, 17th June, 2022
Derek Voorpostel’s In Honour Of Musashi (Ceremonial) clearly made an impression with the painstaking process that was selected for the Tasmanian Hearing and Implant Centre’s Encouragement Award prize. It is also wonderful to see design vision from a male in a competition that predominantly attracts women makers.