In May 2020, Weaving Futures gave 15 contemporary artists from around Australia the unique opportunity to develop concepts for contemporary tapestry, nurturing their professional development and creativity during an extraordinarily challenging time. Through re-imagining our usual commissioning process, an inspiring portfolio of ‘loom ready’ tapestry designs emerged — opening up the possibility for these artists to work with the ATW in the future.

In 2021, support for Weaving Futures from Creative Victoria and the Playking Foundation brought tapestry designs by artists Atong Atem, Troy Emery, Eugenia Lim and Hayley Millar Baker onto our looms. ATW weavers Pamela Joyce, Emma Sulzer, Tim Gresham, and Amy Cornall collaborated with these artists, working at the forefront of Australian contemporary art practice.

Atong Atem is an Ethiopian born, South Sudanese Melbourne-based artist interested in portraiture, which she explores through photography and film. Driven by a socially and politically astute reclamation of the ethnographic imagery of the past, Atem uses this framework to examine migrant narratives, postcolonial practices in the African diaspora and identity.

For the 'Self Portrait in July (4)' tapestry design, Atem combined sci-fi theatrical make-up with references to historical painting to take her work in a fantastical direction. In constructing her photograph, Atem focused on how various fabrics, including sheer polyester, woven cotton gingham and knitted wool would respond to light, and how her digital image would be translated back into textile, in this case, tapestry form.

Speaking about her creative partnership with ATW weaver Pamela Joyce, Atem said that ‘it has been incredible to think about how my work can transform in a new medium. Collaborating with Pamela in her weaving process and having the opportunity to have deep conversations about our practices and our approaches to art-making made me feel valued in this process’.

Joyce used a #18 warp at three warps per cm with six strands of wool, cotton or a mix of each per bobbin, successfully harnessing the contrasting properties of wool and cotton to weave a tapestry interpretation of Atem’s riot of pattern and colour. She specifically used the luminescence of cotton to achieve the pearls’ lustre and the headscarf’s sheen. In capturing the bold make-up pigment of the face and bringing a sense of three- dimensionality to the portrait, Joyce wove mostly in wool for its matte characteristics and intensity of colour.

'Self Portrait in July (4)' is generously supported by the Playking Foundation and Creative Victoria.