Scrapbook: Martha McDonald’s The Weeping Dress

Yesterday I mentioned the Craft Victoria gallery and shop on Flinders Lane – due to the cardboard fruit window installation – and wanted to promptly follow it up by blogging about Martha McDonald, an artist who showcased in the venue’s exhibition space, creating a beautifully hand-crafted dress from paper, activating and animating it with the addition of water. Through the use of gesture, singing and autobiographical narrative, The Weeping Dress comprises a performance and installation arising from detailed research into Victorian mourning culture. At first I really didn’t get it, but after watching the short film that accompanied the strong image of the traditional soiled dress, coupled with McDonald’s singing it became so ethereal and stunning.

Scrapbook: Cardboard Fruit

I stumbled across this last week on Melbourne's Flinders Lane, which is where I've been spending a lot of time of late due to the wealth of cool gallery spaces and art collectives. Not particularly crafty - although it was found in the window of Counter - the shop adjoined to and owned by Craft Victoria -  it certainly grabbed my attention.