Drawing from her upbringing in Australia and Malaysia, and her Indian and Malaysian ancestry, Sangeeta Sandrasegar has worked with master dyer Heather Thomas to create a new exhibition using botanical materials from the Creswick region.
Yellow deep that drew your eyes is now exhibiting at RACV ArtHouse, located on site at RACV Goldfields Resort, and runs until 6 October 2024. The silk works have been developed using dyes extracted from the Cherry Ballart, a native tree found in the region. The yellows and native golds in the exhibition reflect the Goldfields history as a magnet of migration, connection to landscape and land, and contemporary stories of employment.
Artist Sangeeta Sandrasegar said the works spoke to migration and our perceptions as Australians.
“I started to reflect upon my own experience as a child travelling between Malaysia and Australia, and how much that movement informed by own growth and reasons why I make the work I do now,” Ms Sandrasegar said.
“I came across a series of childhood drawings that my Mum stored for years, and I selected a few of these drawings that we recreated using a similar dye process that’s in the larger silk.
“There’s a lot of children that come through this resort, so to have some drawings that they could relate to and hung at a scale that they could see I thought would help introduce people to art at an earlier stage.”
RACV Head of Visual Arts Mardi Nowak said the exhibition is a great opportunity for guests of all ages to engage with RACV’s visual art displays while enjoying the natural grounds of the resort.
“RACV is pleased to support exhibitions like this that engage the arts community and provide an opportunity for locals and guests to enjoy world-class art experiences,” Ms Nowak said.
Book your stay at RACV Goldfields Resort and learn more about the Yellow deep that drew your eyes exhibition by visiting racv.com.au/art.
About the artists
Sangeeta Sandrasegar completed a Doctorate of Philosophy at the Victorian College of the Arts and the Australian Centre at the University of Melbourne. She has exhibited throughout Australia, her work has been featured in numerous public exhibitions including at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; the Australian Centre of Contemporary Art, Melbourne; and the Gallery of Modern Art, Queensland; in addition to major international exhibitions and biennials in New Zealand, Korea, India and the USA.
Heather Thomas holds a Diploma of Arts (Studio Textiles and Design) RMIT, (2011) and a Degree in the Arts (Language and Culture Studies) Deakin University (1999). Heather was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2019 to investigate established botanical dye studios in Japan and America to see how such models may be translated locally. Heather will deliver a workshop using natural dye at Ballarat’s Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades in August 2024.
Contact details:
RACV Media
Phone: 0417 041 398
Email: media@racv.com.au
