Matilde Pacini
Bossley Park High School
THE FINAL ACT
Collection of Work
Biro, Embroidery cotton on calico fabric
The Final Act explores the life cycle through ballet: life as a continuous dance. Ballet shoes and ribbon reference delicacy and femininity and the ephemeral nature of humanity, while jewels represent the ever-lasting legacy each individual leaves to the world and future generations. I express continuity between the past and the present by contrasting the use of biro, a contemporary medium, with the traditional hand embroideries, and through the black and white colour palette to represent reminiscence and fading memories. My intent is to suggest that everyone we meet has lived a life we know nothing about.
My artmaking practice has been influenced by the study and interpretation of the following artists: Michelle Kingdom; Emily Tull; Edgar Degas, The Ballet Class.
Marker's Commentary
The Final Act is a confident and engaging collection of works demonstrating sensitively controlled drawing and embroidery practices. Careful observation and confident manipulation of both mediums are sustained and reiterated. The stylised crossed hatched drawings reveal an intimate view of domesticity and how generations interconnect and share knowledge and precious moments to make invaluable memories through the four vignettes of the plaited hair. This is further articulated by the deliberate use of a monochromatic palette to evoke connections and ideas of the past. The exquisite use of the precisely embroidered personal symbols supports the respect of identity and the past through the acknowledgement of historical craft artistries.