Homage | Artist Statements + Biographies

Image: Jessika Spencer + Krystal Hurst at the Homage exhibition opening, 2023. Photo: 5 Foot Photography.

Jessika Spencer | Artist Statement

These woven works are inspired by the hand drawn imagery titled “Portraits of the Aboriginal inhabitants” by George French Angas.

When seeing the illustrations, I was immediately drawn to the matriarchs, and the accompanying woven materials that adorned them.

Those fibres, and weaving techniques are the same ones that I use today in my own practice.

My woven work is heavily inspired by country, land management and cultural heritage. Sustainability is at the very root, and I make a conscious effort to utilise materials, methods and practices that won’t harm country.

At the core of this body of work are native reeds, woven and looped in with traditional methods, woven over with contemporary fibres. Very much reflecting that ancient techniques are still utilised and honoured in First Nations work.

Each stitch is a journey home.

Jessika Spencer | Biography

Jessika Spencer is a Wiradjuri woman from the Sandhills of Narrungdera (Narrandera), New South Wales. For over the past decade she has resided on beautiful Ngunnawal/ Ngambri country, where she currently creates her art.

Being an Indigenous woman, culture and art go hand in hand. They are intertwined and are an ongoing source of inspiration for her. Through her varied art forms, Jessika explores her cultural identity. She does this via photography, poetry, writing, activism and both contemporary and traditional weaving.

Jessika is a qualified photographer with years of experience in creating visual imagery, portfolios, exhibitions, collaborating with the local community, and traveling for her artistic work.

Jessika is a First Nations weaver, writer and activist.

Each stitch is a journey home.

Krystal Hurst | Artist Statement

We still carry water – is a collection of works created from retrieved knowledge from the National Library of Australia’s archive relating to Worimi people of the Mid North Coast of New South Wales.

This process involved an accumulation of knowledge learnt from my Elders, recreating and reimagining our cultural items through natural materials and watercolour on paper. Water is the central being that lives within us and influences the way we move with Country. I wanted to capture how we still move like water and how we carry this knowledge with us today.

Krystal Hurst | Biography

Krystal Hurst is a Worimi + queer woman from Taree and Forster, NSW Mid North Coast. She is a multi-disciplinary artist focusing on jewellery making, weaving, painting and fashion. Krystal’s practice derives from her Worimi culture, interwoven with her identity, memory and experiences.

She was awarded ACT NAIDOC Artist of the Year and a finalist in the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards in 2019 and 2020.