The venue, a museum and gallery, is an apt one for this show as the artist presents her personal collection of traditional and contemporary textile based memorabilia, in celebration of a variety of textiles from different people, places and circumstances. Also on display is the artist's own contemporary quilted works and her photographic prints that reveal an eye for textures found in nature.
Beneath protective perspex boxes we view an array of hand painted silks, factory printed cotton, scrap material purchased in England, fine new cloth given as gifts by friends, faded fabrics from Japan, bits and bobs bargained for in flea markets or found in 'discard' boxes, even a well loved sock doll, and fine embroidery her Grandfather produced while recovering from wounds received at Gallipoli. Also included are the artist's own first attempts at dressing tiny dolls. These are all precious treasures, a collection of colour and texture both functional and decorative with only one common denominator, they excite the eye and accentuate the artist's appreciation of tactile textiles. Although Lugg is far too young to be the subject of a museum display, her collection does represent an ageless fabric of life.
More fascinating then the memorabilia are the artist's own hand sewn textiles and photographic prints. Some of the quilted exhibits have been displayed before, others are the next step in a series, all impress and delight the viewer. Lugg employs traditional skills to express contemporary concepts in her quilted wall-hangings. Here we see worn and torn faded fabrics recycled by stitching layers together trapping memory and history in a grid pattern of thread. There is a certain Oriental flavour about these works, which may be a result of the fine balance struck between a sense of delicacy and permanence, an anomaly in our disposable world.
Two narrow vertical wall hangings, Desert Cloth III & IV, catch the eye as they offer a different appreciation of the artist's ability. One is soft silk stained with warm yellow ochre hues of day, the other a dark indigo blue cotton like the deepest night. Both wear delicate printed silk patches held in place with undulating horizontal rows of stitching. Simple, contemplative, beautiful.
The photographic prints bear witness to Lugg's interest in simple textures and shapes, colours and subjects, found at home and abroad. Leaf Litter, Bush, WA is a close-up of a forest floor in shades of green tinted grey; Mud Cracks, Simson Desert, NT is a pattern of rich red ochre and black shadow; and new life springs from the ancient Hadrian's Wall, Great Britain in the form of lush green ferns. Lugg has a keen eye for photography, her images are well composed taking into consideration not only subject and colour, but the mood they create.
This is an intriguing exhibition; the collection of the artist's momentos have us thinking of our own past attempts at needlework while the quilted wall hangings, quite modern in style, bridge the gap between then and now, craft and fine art. Then the photographs take us off to a different place in our minds. All very rewarding viewing.