Necessary Torture (2022)
Hand made quilts and appliqué
Collected rusted items
Created on Singer Heavy Duty Sewing Machine
100% cotton fibre, bamboo fibre
All work developed within the household
This project was assisted through Arts Tasmania by the Minister for the Arts
What else is a woman but … an inescapable punishment
Necessary Torture 2022 is a project that revels in the cold and the cruel. It consists of a series of quilts that act less as objects of comfort and more as banners of protest. There is a duality to these textiles, they have the ability to nurture and repulse. Such are the qualities of women.
The name of this exhibition, held at Sawtooth ARI, comes from a quote. “What else is a woman but a foe to friendship, an inescapable punishment, a necessary evil, a natural temptation, a desirable calamity, a domestic danger, a delectable detriment, an evil of nature painted in her faire colours. Therefore if it be a sin to divorce her when she ought to be kept, it is indeed an necessary torture. For either we commit adultery by divorcing her, or we must endure her daily strife.”
This project was developed as a part of the Situate North Program. Being a part of this program has allowed me to develop my professional artistic career under the guidance of industry professionals.
I was interviewed by the Examiner newspaper about this show at Sawtooth ARI, which can be viewed here
I was featured on the ABC Radio, and had a chat about quilts, art and violence. You can listen to that interview here
This project was featured in Issue #32 of Art Edit Magazine, which can be viewed here
Images of Opening Night
By Anna Barber
An excerpt from my interview with the Examiner Newspaper:
“Artist Clara Martin’s textile - based work features nurturing quilts juxtaposed against harsh words.
“They have this tension between comfort and discomfort,” she said.
Ms Martin said her work challenged the idea that feminine behaviour was evil.
“Hyper femininity, being docile and domestic, being a mother, being a wife, they all come with this baggage, I guess. It’s a very clear archetype of how someone should be,” she said.
“The project is trying to remove that barrier of stereotype and reveal that even when people fit those narratives, it’s a lot more nuanced.
“I wanted people to think of things like womanhood, femininity, and I guess the human condition in ways that aren’t so one dimensional”
Ms Martin said she saw Sawtooth ARI as a major step in her art career.
“It’s a paid opportunity, which made me feel I was a successful artist but it’s also a community space, and it’s a well - respected space,” she said.
“It makes my work feel legitimised and established””
Acknowledgements
This project was assisted through Arts Tasmania by the Minister for the Arts