The Janet Holmes à Court Collection
Housed in the Pickle District in West Perth, the Janet Holmes à Court Collection has travelled across the world, sharing individual stories and practices of prominent and emerging artists with diverse communities and large audiences, to grow an understanding and greater appreciation of Australian and Indigenous Art.
Holmes à Court has been building on this collection for decades, with a particular interest in textile works. This passion and love of textiles has steadily grown, representing artists such as Nalda Searles, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, and Helen Seiver, to name a few. Every artwork has its own unique story and identity, each representing a piece of the rich tapestry of Australian art history.
This exhibition focuses on a small selection of textile works in the Janet Holmes à Court Collection, sharing traditional practices, women ’ s work, and bold expressions through the curated exhibition. Each work focuses on a meditative, healing, and considered process, shared through its tactile nature and form. As you walk through this exhibition, take note of each intentional stitch. Feel the warm embrace of each artwork, through the skills and techniques handed down from generations of cultural practices. Appreciate the beauty in vibrant colours, repeat patterns, and layered approaches.
Thank you to the Janet Holmes à Court Collection for creating the opportunity for these artworks to travel to the Geraldton Regional Art Gallery, a region rich in creativity and making. This unique view of the Collection highlights the importance of private collectors in the arts sector, and their support of practicing artists across Australia in sharing their stories.
- Curator, Briony Bray
Utopia and Ernabella
Emily Kame Kngwarreye and Nyukana Baker’s work in are part of a special body of works in the Janet Holme Collection, representing the commitment of Janet Holm supporting artists on their artistic journeys, creating a of contemporary Aboriginal art in Australia. The Utopia batik silks come from the Urapuntja Homel Northern Territory. Established in the late 1970s, the U Women’s Batik movement grew its reputation for these lengths, through the introduction of batik to the remote Utopia, through the passions of two Utopia women. U Picture Story was a prominent project in the 1980s wi community creating 88 silk batik works for exhibition, intention to create a collection of works that would nev separated or split up. Honouring the intention of keep together, all 88 silk batiks were acquired by the Janet Collection, and remains one of its most significant bod the Collection. Having travelled across the world, this attention to the work of Kngwarreye, who quickly beca through her vibrant works and unique style as an Elde community sharing her Awelye (her Dreaming).
Further south, Ernabella Arts on Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Land in South Australia were exploring their own interest in the practice of batik, having taken the opportunity for their artists to travel to Indonesia and learn batik in the 1970s. Within this group was Baker, an artist involved with Ernabella Art since the age of 15. Coming from a textile background, Baker incorporated dying and wax techniques to share milpatjunanyi (sand drawings).
Embroidered with Intention
Helen Seiver is a contemporary artist based in Capel, on Wardandi Noongar Land. Seiver’s practice often involves found objects, emphasising the importance of materiality in her work. Embroidery was a traditional practice passed along by her mother, and Seiver applies this artistry to the notion of threads of conversation and the connections that are created through this medium.
The two artworks by Seiver share her deep connection to the Pilbara, leaning on the traditional practices of using embroidery to mend, repair, and bind together. Nullagine River (2022/23) was exhibited in the Emergences Exhibition at the Holmes à Court Gallery in Vasse Felix in January 2023. This artwork was part of a deeply personal journey for Seiver, with the themes continuing into her other textile works exploring the process of healing, mending, and connection.
Following this exhibition, Seiver, along with Warnman man from Martu Lands Desmond Taylor, launched another way // Desmond Taylor and Helen Seiver. This exhibition shared a collaborative four-year project Seiver and Taylor worked on together, inviting the audience to be part of an intimate journey of understanding, navigating shared tragedy, and finding peace and forgiveness through this meaningful process. This project culminated into a body of work officially opened at the Holmes à Court Gallery in March 2024. From this exhibition, Janet Holmes à Court accessioned six artworks, including Seiver’s Nullagine Insignia (2022/2023). At the time of curating Textiles of the Janet Holmes à Court Collection, this piece was one of the newest artworks to join the Janet Holmes à Court Collection. The addition of Seiver’s work to this diverse Collection captures the raw insights and intimate journeys that the textile medium can provide in a contemporary context.
Warntu | Blanket
Three of the felted artworks in this exhibition came from an initiative in 2007, in Warburton on Ngaanyatjarra Lands. The exhibition, Warburtonta-latju Warntu Palyaranytja - We are doing Warntu Work in Warburton exhibited the first collection of felted artworks that the Warburton community created. Introduced through a series of workshops coordinated by Sujora Conrad, this exhibition was supported by Janet Holmes à Court. Differing substantially from the acrylic medium, the felting process encouraged a tactile and textured outcome, providing a rich sensory experience for the viewer. These artworks focused on bright colour, bold design, and a large scale, leaning into their warntu (blanket) functionality.
The artists involved in the felting workshops were senior artists in their community, each having developed their own distinct styles and iconographies, with a confidence in their ability to tell their Tjukurrpa (Dreaming) stories through various mediums.
Based on the success of the felting workshops, Sujora Conrad returned to Warburton with a project in 2009, the International Year of the Natural Fibre and the International Year of Reconciliation. This project invited Nalda Searles, Bronwyn Goss, and Holly Story to engage and work with the women from Warburton, creating cross-cultural connections and inspiring exchanges between the artists. From this exchange, Nalda Searles created Hair Blanket Mangka Warntu (2010). Searles describes this artwork as a two-way blanket, “This mangka warntu tells my story. It’s a happy blanket. Warntu pukurlpa”.
Artworks
Conch Shell Designs
Jimmy Wululu
c. 1987
Screenprinted fabric, 100cm x 113cm
Finch Design
Dorothy Djukulul
c. 1987
Screenprinted fabric, 100cm x 113cm
Ernabella Design
Nyukana Baker
N.d.
Batik on silk, 367cm x 115cm
Untitled
Emily Kame Kngwarreye
1990
Batik on silk, 133cm x 332cm
Minyma Kutjarra
Nora Holland
2007
Dyed felted merino wool and hessian, 104cm x 205cm
Kunma Tjukurrpa
Walya Mitchell
2007
Dyed felted merino wool, 158cm x 108cm
Makura
Dora Lane
2007
Dyed felted merino wool, 73cm 185cm
Hair Blanket Mangka Warntu
Nalda Searles
2010
Plant dyed linen cloth, human hair, sheep's wool & cotton thread, 176cm x 164cm
Dahorué 2 - Omie Mountain 2
Jean Hoijo
2007
Natural plant dyes and ash on barkcloth, 182cm x 101cm
Warnampi Kutjarra
Elizabeth Holland
2009
Dyed felted Merino wool, 152cm x 205cm
Spin
Holly Story
2012
Two channel looped video and soundtrack
The Range
Matthew McVeigh
2012
Handmade spinifex paper, ink, timber and rope, 185cm x 170cm
Full Fathom Five
Marjorie Coleman
2015-2016
Silk, organza, embroidery thread, hand stitched, 102cm x 62cm
Red Canopy
Holly Story
2011 / 2012
Wool, 240cm x 240cm
Shirt Quilt A
John Parkes
2011
Cotton, silk & cotton ramie cloth (shirts formerly worn by the quilt’s maker), cotton & linen thread, machine pieced, hand quilted, synthetic and natural dyes, commercially and hand dyed, 180cm x 194cm
Nullagine River
Helen Seiver 2023
Found blanket, assorted threads, 190cm x 170cm
Nullagine Insignia
Helen Seiver
2022-2023
Found Blanket and embroidery threads, 180cm x 220cm
Courtesy of the Janet Holmes à Court Collection.
