Selected works from RMIT Culture collections and International Collections

Ema Shin, Soft Alchemy (Lily), 2017

This piece caught my attention for its bold imagery and colour use. The combination of weaving and nude life drawing speaks to me. Those two techniques are personal to me as I find they promote self-soothing and healing. Weaving is an opportunity for me to express myself through colours and textures while the motion of weaving, is a form of grounding method for me and helps me connect my mind and body together.

Ema Shin

Soft Alchemy (Lily), 2017

Cotton and wool

25 x 22 cm

Donated by the Bluestone Collection, 2019 Bluestone Collection: RMIT University Art Collection

Nicholas Bastin, Round Container with Mountain and Colour, 2010-2012

I really enjoy this piece because of its good use of bright colours and composition. This piece reminds me of an Assemblage project I created through layering found objects into a composition. This textile piece sparks memories of being a kid, stealing and collecting stickers, tiny and obscure objects and taking them home to assemble them into a little creation. This piece reminds me of exploring to my inner child creativity.

Nicholas Bastin

Round Container with Mountain and Colour, 2010-2012

Polyurethane, resin, wood and linen

10 x 10.5 x 60 cm

Donated by the Bluestone Collection, 2019 Bluestone Collection: RMIT University Art Collection

Striving for thinness screwed me up - self-portrait drawing

This self-portrait was made with felt tip pen and was inspired by my fat body.

The reason why I create nude self-portraits is to familiar myself with my body and accept the parts that aren’t accepted in society. This portrait is to tackle my inner fatphobia and is a form of therapy and self-care.

Inedible - bead woven length

This woven length is made from repurposed newspapers formed into paper pulp beads, painted with acrylic paint and woven through a handmade beaded loom. This woven textile was inspired by my Experimental classes where we explored different experimental techniques. This length was made during a time of isolation restrictions which encouraged me to re-use discarded materials in my environment. Using re-purposed materials is considered throughout my creative practices and inspires me to think outside of the box.

03

Soft Chips - machine knitted sample

Soft Chips is a machine knitted sample stuffed with loose yarn to soften and elevate the welted layers. The textile created here addresses and aid hand pain by promoting rest and elevating hands on supportive layers. The source of inspiration is personal as I suffer from hand pain and sensory issues related to having fibromyalgia. Each element relieves sensory overload and grounds the user through touch, colour use and layering. I want to explore how the inherent sensorial qualities of textiles can create psychological and physical benefits for the user.

Holly Goodridge

Holly Goodridge, Currently based in Melbourne, Australia is a contemporary multi-disciplinary artist, primarily working with paintings, sculptural objects and digital media. Through a lens of absurdist humour, her work explores the art activity outside the institution through the intervention of art within an ordinary private/public space.