We spoke to artist Shannon Slee about her creative practice and the inspirations behind the work featured in our current exhibition Line/Loop/Line, on site at the Australian Tapestry Workshop until February 2024.

How did you get into making art?

I have always made things. When we were children mum would let us spend hours with scraps of material or go on the sewing machine. As part of my undergraduate, back in the 90s, I painted large canvas’ of headless nudes! I always wanted to study art and set up an active arts practice but for lots of reasons (like finance and family) I haven’t had the chance, until the last few years.

Who or what inspires you to create?

My arts practice is really interested in connecting with the past through textiles. I often look for stories and directly translate these into textile works. So, it is the women in the stories that inspire me

What does your practice involve – what techniques do you use in your work?

The work in the ATW Line/Loop/Line exhibition is a weaving work. I learnt to use a 4-shaft loom because I enjoy experimenting and learning new techniques, particularly around textiles. The wall painting is echoing the grid from the cloth. I seem to take my work through different mediums as part of the process, maybe this is how I familiarise myself with the content? However, I mostly rely on techniques of joining scraps of fabrics and discarded clothes and call them textile assemblages. I am interested in the different histories of fabrics coming together like this.

What does a day in the studio look like?

An ideal day is both reading and making. While studying at VCA, I had a studio space in the stables. Having a dedicated and beautiful space, away from domestic concerns, was brilliant. I filled it with a lot of books from the library and fabric. When it got messy, I knew I was making.

How does your work in this exhibition relate to your practice and where it is heading?

The iteration of 'Weaving for Yvonne' for the ATW in Line/Loop/Line, with the painted fabric wall has me thinking a lot about the transfer of information between textiles and paint. This is something that interests me and I hope to explore further in my work.

‘Line/Loop/Line’ is open to the public to view 10am-5pm, Thursday – Saturday until 2 Feb 2024.

View the ‘Line/Loop/Line’ exhibition page here.