28 SEPTEMBER - 22 OCTOBER 2022
FELT DARK

Kasia Tons
Forest

Forest aims to capture the layered complexity of my local area’s accelerated scarring of recent years from fire, forestry, and tourism. This is a place that twenty years ago, it was rare to meet another human. Non-humans set the pace with their sounds, scents, and patterns. Changes were subtle and seasonal. In recent years they have become quick and harsh. There were the 2019/20 fires, the harvesting of mono-cropped pine and tourism creeping in. It is now rare, no matter the time or day of the week to be alone in the forest. Newly installed signage displays this area’s new name, aptly shared with a well-known predatory pest, and inside, the well-worn animal tracks have been converted into mountain bike speedways. Spooked creatures appear from piles of tree carcasses laying on ground deeply embossed by the tyres of large machinery. As this is my first solo film work it was important for me to feel a link between this and my textile arts practice. The footage I’ve used was captured over many weeks and the editing process swaps needle and thread for digital stitching. During this process the history of women as some of the earliest ‘cutters’ (later renamed editors) in film studios has never been far from my mind. Early on, seen as a menial and monotonous role that had similarities to knitting or sewing it became very gendered. Studios employed predominantly women to fill these roles they saw as insignificant.[1] We now appreciate the power and importance of this cutting/editing process in how a story is communicated and how it is received.

[1] D Muel, Women Film Editors: Unseen Artists of the American Cinema 2016, McFarland & Co Inc

ARTIST BIO

Kasia Tons is a textile artist working and living on Peramangk country. Hand embroidery and mask making are central to her practice which sits somewhere between art, fashion, and craft. Her process is slow and intuitive, colourful, and expressive. Recurring thematic interests include digital technology, the Anthropocene, and interpersonal and interspecies relationships. She has exhibited nationally and internationally and has participated in residencies in Iceland, the USA, Latvia, and the Slovak Republic. The Rothko Art Centre, Latvia holds two of her pieces as part of their permanent collection and her work was selected as a finalist for the 2021 Ramsay Art Award. She works part time as an arts mentor.