Design and Art Australia Online

Vicki West is a Tasmanian Aboriginal installation artist who works with kelp, textiles, vines and seeds to create sculptural installations that speak of the impact of invasion, government policies, land rights and social justice issues. West is a descendant of the Trawlwoolway people of north-east Tasmania and her heritage inspires much of her artwork. She works with kelp, dodder vines and seeds that connects her to her ancestors, in particular the women and their kelp and weaving traditions.

In West’s hands the kelp and the dodder vines take on a more contemporary form. With an understanding of the traditional knowledge of how to collect, dry and manipulate these materials, she brings to life objects that at first viewing appear 'ancient’ but on closer inspection have meanings and subtexts that are relevant to a modern audience. For example her kelp vests are armour-like costumes sewn to form a physically fragile vest that has the appearance of wearability. The dodder vine woven objects comprise rows of interconnected woven circles that hang suspended, evoking a fantasy world where light and shadow suggest the whispers and movements of ancestral spirits. Yet these same suspended objects have a contemporary sculptural appearance that today’s art audiences can relate to.

West began making art in the early 1990s but did not exhibit until 1996 in the group show 'Buddhabungan’ at the Australian National University. She spent the next ten years exhibiting in group shows including 'Spinifex Runner’ curated by Diane Moon at Campbelltown Arts Centre, NSW (1998); 'Knotted Up’ at Gallery B, University of Tasmania (2000); 'Journeys’ at Bond Store, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (2001); 'Native Title Business’ at Queensland Museum (2002) and 'We’re Here’ at the National Museum of Australia (2004).

'A Nasty Piece of Work’ was shown at the Arts Alive Artspace in Launceston in 2005 and marked West’s first solo exhibition, her second solo, 'Shadow: A Nasty Piece of Work No 2’ also in 2005 was exhibited at the Poimena Gallery in Launceston and in 2008 'Re-earthing’ at the Koorie Heritage Trust in Melbourne was her third. West continues to show her work in group exhibitions such as the 'Premaydena’ with Lola Greeno as part of the 2007 Ten Days on the Island Arts Festival and 'Nguurramban: Where We Are’ at the Linden Centre for Contemporary Arts in St Kilda, Melbourne in July and August of 2007.

In 2000 West was a finalist in the 17th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory with her untitled stitched kelp vessel. In 2003 she received her first arts grant from Arts Tasmania to develop a new body of work Journey to Other, which was the pre-cursor to 'A Nasty Piece of Work’. The grant also enabled West the opportunity to experiment with kelp and other fibres and dyes. In 2004 she won an Arts Tasmania residency at Lake St Clair (Residency Leeawulenna), which she undertook in early 2005. The intended result of this residency is a site specific installation (scheduled for completion in 2009), Living Culture, designed to be a functional protective structure made from materials found on site for its Aboriginal Weaving Garden – a garden that consists of local Indigenous plants utilised by Tasmanian Aboriginal people in Launceston.

West is not only an exhibiting artist but also a curator and a workshop and conference presenter. In 2001 she curated the exhibition 'Taking Our Place’ at Gallery A, University of Tasmania (Launceston campus) and in 2004 she conducted a weaving workshop with fellow weaver Yvonne Koolmatrie at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston and a kelp workshop at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra. In 2006 she presented a conference paper at the Selling Yarns conference in Darwin and for the touring exhibition 'Woven Forms: Contemporary basket making in Australia’ at Object Gallery in Sydney. In 2007 she was invited to sit as a member of the Aboriginal Advisory Committee for Arts Tasmania.

In 2008 West completed her Masters of Fine Arts at the University of Tasmania’s School of Visual and Performing Arts, Launceston. This completed a period of study that began more than a decade earlier when she enrolled in a Bachelor of Fine Arts (awarded in 1999) and then a Bachelor of Fine Arts with First Class Honours (awarded in 2001) from the University of Tasmania.

West is represented in the City of Port Phillip Council art collection, St Kilda, Victoria; the Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney; the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston; the National Museum of Australia, Canberra; and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.

Writers:

Allas, TessNote:

Date written:

2008

Last updated:

2011

Status:

peer-reviewed