The Art Assignment

I was asked to be involved in an exhibition that explored the concept of convict labour assignment. This group show was held at the Woolmers Estate in Longford, Australia.

The proposal was as follows:
”Woolmers Estate is one of the eleven sites that make up the Australian Convict Sites UNESCO World Heritage Properties, due to its extensive and impressive history of the forced migration of convicts. Along with the nearby Brickendon property, these two Tasmanian sites have been recognised for their ability to portray the story of the convict Assignment System, which was in operation in Van Diemen’s Land up until 1840.

Assignment, at its simplest, was the provision of convict labour to the free settlers of a colony. Its ultimate aim was to bolster an emerging economy, while at the same time providing the ‘unwanted and unruly’ with reformative employment.

Woolmers was continuously occupied by the Thomas Archer family from circa 1817 to 1994 and is acknowledged as one of the most outstanding examples of 19th century rural settlements in Australia. 3

TasTAFE Visual Arts, Inveresk has been invited to annually exhibit student and graduate work from their visual arts courses in the outstanding contemporary gallery spaces of the Nigel Peck Centre located in the gardens of the estate.”

‘Coins, Cloth, Leather, and Neglect of Family’ 2025, quilt & fabric appliqué, 95 x 150cm

“Taking inspiration from the Rajah Quilt, a textile created by convict women while being transported to Tasmania, I quilted together a collection of cloths. I found a leggier in which described the crimes of my ancestors and why they were brought here, namely theft and neglect. It made me think about cycles of history and how behaviour from 200 years ago still presents itself now.”

I used fabric from items such as the floral shirt I graduated university in, a nightgown I have found comfort in, and the shirts of a former lover. I tried to bring together parts of life that were generally separate, mimicking the nature of the lives of convicts. It was also a choice in order to simulate how the same things keep happening in my family, and so by preserving these clothes as artwork, perpetuate behaviour.