I first met Sam and Maya at a market in Launceston and, like everyone who sees their things, was mesmerised by their paper folding abilities. The other thing that gets you is the paper. It’s no ordinary paper. Pages of old books are carefully selelcted for paper thickness and storyline to make their creating even more spectacular.
We shot out to Golden Valley to photograph these guys, they live an a stunning part of the world with a view of a mountain out the back door and the smell of nature all around.
I had a sneek peak at what they have made for Van Wonderland and it looks fantastic, and some of it doesn’t involve paper!
Van Wonderland is an exhibition of work by contemporary crafts practitioners exploring a mysterious world of not-quite-real objects and creatures, based upon historic western perceptions of Tasmania (‘Van Diemen’s Land’) as a distant and little-known island at the far reaches of the globe.
This ‘new world’, full of strange and exotic flora and fauna, could be by turns beautiful and sinister – just as the strange Wonderland explored so famously by Lewis Carroll’s Alice.
Step into Van Wonderland and explore the mysteries within. And don’t forget to take your teacup.
Participating artists include Tara Badcock, The Purple Finch, Erin Tappe, Hideyo, Cat Badcock, Ghostpatrol, Megan Perkins, Omar Misa, Helen Goninon, and Anita Dineen with accompanying photography by Alan Moyle (Photobat).
Come to the opening, Friday 18th September 2009 at 6 pm, Design Centre, Tamar Street, Launceston, RSVP by email or by 6331 5505. Exhibition open until the 18th of October.
