Excerpt from Textile Fibre Forum No 115
The Intricate Structures and resilient Forms of Judith Brown
By Janet De Boer
My first encounter with Judith Brown’s remarkable work was when I visited the South Australian Museum in August 2013 to see the 11th annual Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize exhibition (often referred to simply as ‘The Waterhouse’). This event positions itself as a “prestigious international competition that challenges artists to explore the processes and discoveries of every scientific discipline in creative and unlimited ways”.
I fount the exhibition rewarding on many levels, not least of which was the opportunity to see the Overall Winner, Flight of Fancy by Judith Brown, inspired by birds and the formation of feathers on their wings. Judith brown writes, “My first introduction to the Waterhouse Prize was in 2012 as a finalist with a sculpture titles Nature’s Lace. This was a neck piece incorporating Watsonia bulbs and ash leaves, with the basic ‘frame’ taken from a scan of a single build. The effect was lace like and highlighted the delicate structure and form of the object. In 2013, I created Flight of Fancy to enter in the Waterhouse Prize, again using Watsonia bulbs and ash leaves.”
Re-posted from The Australian Forum for Textile Arts