HEATHER DORROUGH
LIFE . DESIGN . CRAFT . ART . LIFE
In 1992, the artist Heather Dorrough said about her work that ‘her greatest achievement has been having the courage to not repeat herself.'
Heather carried this attitude all through her life: the essential need to create, to learn new things, to change with life’s circumstances, to master a field, to produce the best work you can. Then don’t repeat, move on to visions new.
With a detailed biography by life partner and sometime collaborator Terry Dorrough, a foreword by art historian/curator Christine France, three insightful essays by respected arts writers Anne Brennan, Julie Ewington and Peter Emmett, and a wealth of photographs, this book tells the story of a highly individual journey in the world of design, craft and art, and the extraordinary range of work created, in a career spanning six decades
Christine France is an art historian, writer and curator. Her books include ‘Maria Gazzard: form and clay’, and ‘Margaret Olley (2002)
Anne Brennan is a Canberra based artist, writer and teacher who has written extensively on the visual arts, craft and design.
Julie Ewington is a curator, writer, editor and broadcaster, based in Sydney. She is an authority on Australian art, especially by women.
Peter Emmett is a curator, art historian, writer, and interpreter of the meaning of sites, spaces and collections.
Design by Harry Williamson and Craig Elliot
Author and Contributors:
Terry Dorrough is a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects. He describes himself as an architect, designer, builder and maker, a sailor and bush carer, and now an author and publisher.
A large format, hardback book, of 208 pages.
Published by Across the River Press in 2023
'a born artist'
Introduction, Forward & Early Years (1933 - 1953)
PART ONE
"Heather Dorrough was one of an exceptional group of women who, in a quest for excellence, raised the status of what had previously been regarded as craft to the status of fine art, reshaping the history of art in Australia."
Christine France
PART TWO
The Design Years (1933 - 1953)
...these works grew directly from my career as an Interior Designer working with architects, using colour, pattern, light and space, and also my love of fabrics, their variety, their 'feel', texture and colour.
PART THREE
Machine Embroidery (1974 - 1980)
When I discovered I could draw with the Sewing Machine...
"Cloth was essential to Heather’s project of locating herself within a larger social and historical context in ’Wollombi Farm’, both as a formal and conceptual strategy. Cloth’s structure was constantly invoked in the ways that she allowed the works loose threads to hang down into the space of the gallery and she mounted them so that both sides could be seen. In this way she invited the viewer to consider the factor of her work as a visible part of its meaning."
Anne Brennan
PART FOUR
'Self Portraits' (1980 - 1982)
I want to produce work which is really strong and yet very delicate:
I want to express the female strength
The ‘Self Portraits’ series became nothing less than a feminist icon, and was immediately recognised for its courage, innovation, and confidence. This was a major statement of several ideas central to feminist art, brought together: a hard photographic look at the mature female body of the 49-year-old artist herself, and a major work in textiles, long identified as women’s work.
Julie Ewington
PART FIVE
From 'Craft World' to 'Art World' (1983 - 1987)
...to work with a greater degree of jeopardy
...to create 'potent structures'
...to make 'chance' an essential factor of my work
PART SIX
Experiments in Sculptural and
Structural Fabric (1983 - 1989)
I am interested in the material reality of fabric
PART SEVEN
Reassessment and change of lifestyle (1988 - 1997)
life is not a dress rehearsal
PART EIGHT
A new career -
Painting and Printmaking
(1998 - 2018)
If you are going to do something –
you might as well learn to do it properly
"I now sit quietly and think about Heather, her boldness and intelligence but also her vulnerability and curiosity. She was an innovator across her whole life, as young professional interior designer, in architectural commissions, as an artist in many media, as a feminist, an environmentalist. She was just so capable, and determined to master every skill and material she took on. Perhaps this was her 'cross': the dilemmas of perfectionism and spontaneity, self and detachment. It was a privilege to know her and to share a phase of her life and art when she was exploring very personal issues about herself and ‘everywoman’, and expressing these ideas in powerful installations of the body in space."
Peter Emmett
Where to buy the book:
More booksellers coming online end of 2023