WINNER - Cumberland Council Professional Development Award
Your embrace is my fondest memory (2022)
Cyanotype prints on cotton, timber, metal, polyester and polyurethane
In Your embrace is my fondest memory, nostalgic furniture items have been covered by a ‘skin’ of cyanotype prints. I have used domestic objects and intergenerational sewing techniques to present a poetic narrative of the memory of loved ones. Inspired by the method of repurposing Rookwood’s Mortuary Station (1957–58), I draw upon the memory of my Nan relocating her Greenhouse to her new home after my Grandfather passed away. The prints were exposed to foliage as a metaphorical embodiment of my Nan’s affection for greenhouses. Embroidered into the fabric is a message to my late Nan. This work may fade during the exhibition, exemplifying the nature of our memories fading.
About the Artist
WINNER - Cumberland Council Professional Development Award
Leisa Sage was born on Whadjuk Country in Perth and now lives on Gadigal Wangal Country in Sydney’s Inner West. Her art practise responds to memory and time, environmental and socio-political landscapes, lived experiences and women’s health. Leisa has exhibited at Airspace Projects Marrickville, Brunswick Street Gallery Melbourne, Galerie Abstract Project Paris, Braemar Gallery Blue Mountains, Gaffa Gallery Sydney, Factory 49 Marrickville, Gallery Lane Cove and .M Contemporary Woollahra. She has been an artist in residence at Culture at Work Pyrmont and Hill End NSW. In 2016, Leisa was awarded the Janice Reid Emerging Artist Award at the Western Sydney University Sculpture Award.
Transcription
Hello, my name is Leisa Sage and this is my work titled Your Embrace Is My Fondest Memory.
This work is a union of both artistic processes and domestic objects to describe my personal connection to my late grandparent. We would create projects alongside each other in her lounge room every holiday season. The arm chair and side table hold symbolic meaning as my grandparent had limited mobility.
These chosen objects and sewing techniques, including quilting and embroidery, carry sentimental value to me as they represent intergenerational learning processes that I experienced. For the quilting process, I chose to use fabric that was light sensitive as a method to contain memory. Creating cyanotypes involves placing light sensitive materials in the sun with objects on the surface.
After time, these objects are imprinted and remain as white spaces or white echoes on the material. This material was exposed to flora at Rookwood and hand written words to describe my reminiscence of my relationship with my grandparents. The work has been created for HIDDEN in response to the relocation of the mortuary station building to Canberra. The building was deconstructed and then reconstructed in 1957 to 1958.
This process of deconstruction and reconstruction directly relates to my work through the process of quilting, when a piece of fabric is cut down, arranged and then reconstructed for you, you as the viewer. I hope that you will experience your own connection to a memory of a loved one and recall tenderness and warm embraces from people in your life you have loved.