CELEBRATE ART: Annabelle Collett

Take a sneak peek inside this gorgeous book on artist Annabelle Collett by Kathie Muir, which is as bright, bold, and beautiful as Collett herself.

Post written by Poppy Nwosu

As of this week I am back in lock-down at my home (after a brief trip interstate), and so for the next fourteen days I cannot venture beyond my driveway.
The good news is that I was well aware of my impending iso period, so was able to prepare (this time) by taking a lovely trip to the Art Gallery of South Australia, one of my favourite places in the world, to see the current Monsters exhibition.

I am the kind of amateur art fan that is (for better or worse) most often drawn to paintings that are romantic or aesthetically pleasing (probably why I like the pre-Raphaelite artists so much!). And although Monsters certainly has some beautiful art, I feel like its purpose is a little different, being filled with weird and wonderful installations, sculpture, technology and (fascinating) illustrations.

I absolutely loved my visit, and the whole trip had me thinking more about the different mediums artists choose to tell their story or express their feelings. Which in turn, got me thinking about Annabelle Collett.
This was one of the very first books published by Wakefield after I began to work here, and I must admit, I hadn't previously known much about this South Australian artist. But I loved flipping through the pages and seeing the way she expressed herself through sustainable fashion, textile and design – all mediums I didn't really know much about.

So because I've been thinking about this book lately, I thought it might be fun to share some of the pages here, to brighten up your week with some bold prints and gorgeous designs!

I think my favourite are the interior designs. Look how gorgeous they are!

 
 

Annabelle Collett (1955–2019) was a South Australian designer and artist whose work embraced art, design and craft.

Her fashion designs and particularly her dramatic knitwear produced under the Ya Ya Oblique Clothing label attained international recognition. Her work also encompassed furniture design, graphics, costume and interior design, public art and environments. From the early 1990s Annabelle concentrated on making sculptural art pieces about the human form and its coverings, looking at the function and cultural meaning of attire with reference to ideas about gender, the body and sexuality.
In more recent years Collett also investigated notions of camouflage, disguise, pattern and the affect of disruptions to pattern. She is also known for a series of works with recycled and found plastics that focussed on repurposing waste and challenged the widespread adoption of single-use plastics. Having been based in Adelaide most of her career, in 2009 she moved to Clayton Bay where she enjoyed a rich collaboration with communities in the Alexandrina region as well as pursuing her own practice.

 

 
Discover more about Annabelle Collett on our website and remember, the best way to show your support for writers, poets, publishers and booksellers is to buy books!
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