WINNER: Award in honour of Pam and Neil Thorne – sponsored by Janet De Boer OAM. A special award which reflects the core concept of Paper on Skin, an idea conceived and developed by Burnie artist Pam Thorne with support from her husband Neil. $1000
ABOUT THE PIECE
Listening to the night explores the moment of stillness between the in-breath and the out-breath of the body, the moment between day and night when the light fades and becomes fleetingly more intense. Everything seems to momentarily pause.
The dress has been created as a series of artists books that combine in different forms to capture traces of a story that is left behind.
Layers of ink, dye and paint were applied over months of printing and stitching using traditional and contemporary printmaking and bookbinding techniques. The pattern for the dress was created directly sculpting the paper onto the body.
A sleeve becomes a cuff, a collar becomes a headpiece, the skirt transforms into the pages of a book. Endings and beginnings merge in both directions. The story intertwines.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Leonie Oakes is a multidisciplinary artist crossing photography, artists books, and printmaking in two- and three-dimensional works. She graduated with a Master Research Degree from the University of Tasmania in 2009 where she was the recipient of a prestigious Australian Postgraduate Award scholarship.
Core themes to date have primarily focused on the cultural association of the book with women and the development of the artists’ book as wearable objects. These themes are expressed in her most recent works, including Listening to the night. Between the lines a story lies demonstrates similar techniques and themes and was awarded the $1500 Temple-Smith Lawyers (Linda Johnston Director) Major Award for the inaugural Paper off Skin in June 2022.
Materials: Letterpress, Nilo, dye, ink, ribbon, thread, detail and Kozo paper.
Leonie on INSTAGRAM
Leonie’s award winning work at the very first Paper on Skin in 2012