Studies in Soft Movement, 2023

Collaboration with Nicola Knackstredt for Craft Victoria Craft Contemporary Festival

Brunswick Street Gallery

Install view of Studies in Soft Movement, 2023

Photographs courtesy of Brunswick Street Gallery ©

Install view of Studies in Soft Movement, 2023
Photographs courtesy of Brunswick Street Gallery ©

Studies in Soft Movement’ is part of the 2023 Craft Contemporary Festival and is a collaborative exhibition between Melbourne/Naarm-based ceramicist Anabelle Stonehouse and Canberra/Ngunnawal/Ngambri-based contemporary jeweller Nicola Knackstredt.

Although coming from different material practices, the artists share a common relationship to their materials: both explore softness and femininity with reference to the folds and draping of fabric—Anabelle in porcelain, and Nicola in silver.

The artists both engage in a liminal space by using materials that are at once hard and soft, fragile and durable. Delicate frills and swirls can be seen in both artists’ work, evoking a sense of gentle movement. Using traditional and sometimes unconventional craft techniques, both artists transform delicate details and fluid forms into repetitive sequences by hand, which in turn become unique, small-scale artworks. 

Having discovered each other’s work and shared aesthetic, the artists have collaborated over the last few months and explored the similarities between their practices. Incorporating new materials into their work allowed for a deeper understanding and new perspective. This exhibition is a culmination of that relationship, and provides a shared space for the artists to showcase the gentle movement of fabric through porcelain and silver.