Ballarat textile artist Jem Olsen has drawn on a story of gold rush-era abuse of power for her latest piece, which has been met with national acclaim.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ms Olsen's piece titled In Solidarity is an embroidered homage to Catherine McLister, an Irish Immigrant who lived in the goldfields and made a sexual harassment complaint against Ballarat's police commissioner at the time, Captain Gordon Evans.
She came across the story when reading Professor Claire Wright's The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka, and said she was drawn to the alternative perspective it gave to the history of the gold rush.
"When we studied the history of Eureka at school we were really given the impression that there were no women on the goldfields, that it was very much male-dominated," she said.
"In reading Claire's book, it made it very clear to me that there were some amazing women on the gold fields.
"When I read about her story in Claire's book, it really resonated with me. Some of her experiences were similar to what I had experienced. I had a really emotional response to it."
The piece contains an embroidery of the complaint lodged by Ms McLister, detailing the harassment she had received by the police commissioner.
Ultimately, Ms McLister's formal complaint was dismissed.
Work on the piece began in 2019 at the behest of the City of Ballarat's art and culture team.
Ms Olsen, who studied textile art at RMIT University, said she would often work on the piece in Ballarat's Camp Street, where Ms McLister would have lived in a tent with her husband 170 years ago.
"In stitching her words, sometimes at the site of her former residence here in Camp Street, it provided an opportunity to connect with Catherine and to help continue the conversation about the importance of women's rights to feel safe," she said.
"There is that idea of stitching being akin to emotional repair. By the time I had finished that larger piece it was really quite spooky. I had it photographed on Police Lane, that is where the bulk of those images were shot. I didn't realise but at the time I was pregnant, which was a pretty amazing feat in itself. I feel that she was kind of pivotal to that."
The piece was selected to be showcased at Fibre Arts Australia's International Art Textile Biennale 2023.
The exhibition, which will make a tour around various galleries across the country, brings together a mix of new Australian and international textile artists.
Ms Olsen said she felt privileged to be a finalist in the Bienalle.
"It felt unbelievable. I felt so stoked to be selected by the team. Just that idea that it will have the chance to tour other galleries around Australia is really cool," she said.
For more information about the Biennale, visit https://www.fibrearts.net.au/biennale.html.
Have you tried The Courier's app? It can be downloaded here.
