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[av_heading heading=’Showcase: Mel Booth’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote modern-centered’ subheading_active=” show_icon=” icon=’ue800′ font=” size=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” subheading_size=’15’ av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” icon_size=” av-medium-font-size-1=” av-small-font-size-1=” av-mini-font-size-1=” color=” custom_font=” icon_color=” margin=” margin_sync=’true’ padding=’10’ icon_padding=’10’ link=” link_target=” id=” custom_class=” av_uid=’av-kt3je94c’ admin_preview_bg=”][/av_heading]
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Erin Irwin takes a closer look at these outstanding works.
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[av_image src=’https://artedit.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Are-you-sure-IV.jpg’ attachment=’31349′ attachment_size=’full’ copyright=” caption=” styling=” align=’center’ font_size=” overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’ hover=” appearance=” link=” target=” title_attr=” alt_attr=” lazy_loading=’disabled’ id=” custom_class=” av_element_hidden_in_editor=’0′ av_uid=’av-kcpjssdq’ admin_preview_bg=”][/av_image]
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The work: Mel Booth, Are you sure IV. Embroidery on satin, 80 x 110cm. Courtesy: the artist.
In Mel Booth’s Are you sure IV, the artist explicitly questions the viewer. Are you sure you feel that way? Are you sure you are right? It evokes the sense of doubt that assaults the viewer on a daily basis, where shifting narratives make discerning truth and fact feel almost impossible. Working from an image taken by the artist of a patch of sand near Broken Hill, NSW, Booth embroiders barely discernible words among the natural detritus of rocks and twigs. The use of needlework is deliberate, exploiting well-trod debates concerning the feminine connotations of crafts to subtly implicate gender dichotomies into the narrative of the piece. Women are often accused of being hysterical, and have their legitimate emotional responses undermined by ossified social conventions. Here, a quintessential snapshot of the vivid red sand speaks to the interconnectedness of our national psyche, but its close, almost intimate framing makes the work feel deeply personal. Booth etches her words on to the physical landscape, making visual the political and social landscape now so often feels unstable and unfamiliar.
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[av_heading heading=’Artworks for sale by Mel Booth’ tag=’h3′ link=” link_target=” style=’blockquote modern-quote modern-centered’ size=” subheading_active=” subheading_size=’15’ margin=” padding=’10’ icon_padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” icon_color=” show_icon=” icon=’ue800′ font=” icon_size=” custom_class=” id=” admin_preview_bg=” av-desktop-hide=” av-medium-hide=” av-small-hide=” av-mini-hide=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” av-medium-font-size-1=” av-small-font-size-1=” av-mini-font-size-1=” av_uid=’av-u8wcel’][/av_heading]
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[av_heading heading=’More Showcase features from issue #29′ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote modern-centered’ subheading_active=” show_icon=” icon=’ue800′ font=” size=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” subheading_size=’15’ av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” icon_size=” av-medium-font-size-1=” av-small-font-size-1=” av-mini-font-size-1=” color=” custom_font=” icon_color=” margin=” margin_sync=’true’ padding=’10’ icon_padding=’10’ link=” link_target=” id=” custom_class=” av_uid=’av-kt3jc2ou’ admin_preview_bg=”][/av_heading]
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