To Unpathed Waters
Meg Gallagher
Opening
Friday April 12
5PM
Please join us for the opening night celebration.
To Unpathed Waters
A small textile mountain of denim offcuts, splotchy canvas drop cloths and a river of shimmering green velvet grows in the corner
of Meg Gallagher’s Dunedin studio, a tangible reminder of the relationship between fashion and climate change. Gallagher’s
textiles, however, are not destined for landfill, rather, they become the land - raw and untamed, rolling, shimmering velvet hills,
wild water and moody dark denim skyscapes in To Unpathed Waters (2024), Gallagher’s latest exhibition at Olga Gallery, Moray
Place, Dunedin.
To Unpathed Waters features 6 large paintings of the natural world, landscapes made of carefully stitched together denim,
canvas, and velvet from the mountain of textile offcuts. Strokes of acrylic paint form movement across the landscapes while
pigments of natural colour: marigold, beetroot powder, onion leaf and indigo give depth to the surfaces.
In The Wave (2024) a stroke of white acrylic paint glides between an indigo denim sky and an ecru canvas splashed with
spontaneous colour and pattern from its former life as a drop cloth. In this painting the dirty coloured drop cloth has been
transformed into a sandy ocean floor. In The Mood (2024) a similar ecru canvas is used to different effect, here the orange and
burnt brown tones of pigment powder splashed on the canvas give off volcanic heat. The impression of heat is intensified by a
contrasting section of black denim stitched in to enhance the orange tones of the pigments used.
White denim is used in Highs and Lows (2024) to create a different experience, here the denim sits alongside indigo denim and
smears of opaque pigment powder to suggest changing seasons. A faint pink skylight glows on right hand side of the landscape,
a winter sun disappearing behind the hills, leaving behind the muddy brown shades of winter. Black and white denim contrasts in
Only Human (2024) also feel like winter, here the sun has disappeared entirely but bursts of yellow marigold pigment hint at the
promise of spring.
The shimmering green velvet from the textile mountain was purchased from an antique furniture store in South Australia. The
store was closing down and Gallagher grabbed the opportunity to take the bolt of upholstery fabric which now forms part of the
landscape in The Remedy (2024) and The Radical Thought (2024). In both paintings Gallagher has used water to smooth
sections of the velvet pile, leaving a segment of crumpled velvet topography, where the small peaks of unsmoothed fabric capture
light.
Gallagher has a background in fashion completing a Bachelor of Design majoring in Fashion Design with first class honours from
Otago Polytechnic. Her connections with the fashion industry have led to her work being seen from a fashion perspective,
previous shows timed to coincide with fashion week events have hinted at her fashion past.
However, Gallagher’s interest in using discarded textiles has artworld precedents. Cuban born, Miami,
Florida-based artists Alain Guerra and Neraldo de la Paz the creative team behind Guerra de la Paz are known for their use
abandoned items of clothing which they sculpt into mountains and trees. This work draws attention to textile waste, notably fast
fashion, as a significant contributor to climate pollution and the destruction of our ecosystem.
Gallagher’s vision is more abstract, but like Guerra de la Paz’s sculptures, her landscapes are large (170cm high x 120 cm wide)
an expansiveness that allows the audience to inhabit the landscapes, to stand beside and imagine themselves in them.
In a further point of difference Guerra de la Paz used discarded clothing, whereas Gallagher mostly uses material from her own
design business, she still designs clothing. Where some designers use offcuts as fill for items like cushions, or incorporate
remnants into further designs, Gallagher’s offcuts are stitched back into the landscape sustaining a vision for preserving our
future. The fabric has its own stories to tell, unlike the discarded clothing used by Guerra de la Paz, Gallagher can trace the
origins of the textiles used. The textile landscapes in To Unpathed Waters hold personal stories of journeys from Australia to
Dunedin, of marks made from experimental textile dying, and of garments designed to treasure.
Natalie Smith, 2024
A small textile mountain of denim offcuts, splotchy canvas drop cloths and a river of shimmering green velvet grows in the corner
of Meg Gallagher’s Dunedin studio, a tangible reminder of the relationship between fashion and climate change. Gallagher’s
textiles, however, are not destined for landfill, rather, they become the land - raw and untamed, rolling, shimmering velvet hills,
wild water and moody dark denim skyscapes in To Unpathed Waters (2024), Gallagher’s latest exhibition at Olga Gallery, Moray
Place, Dunedin.
To Unpathed Waters features 6 large paintings of the natural world, landscapes made of carefully stitched together denim,
canvas, and velvet from the mountain of textile offcuts. Strokes of acrylic paint form movement across the landscapes while
pigments of natural colour: marigold, beetroot powder, onion leaf and indigo give depth to the surfaces.
In The Wave (2024) a stroke of white acrylic paint glides between an indigo denim sky and an ecru canvas splashed with
spontaneous colour and pattern from its former life as a drop cloth. In this painting the dirty coloured drop cloth has been
transformed into a sandy ocean floor. In The Mood (2024) a similar ecru canvas is used to different effect, here the orange and
burnt brown tones of pigment powder splashed on the canvas give off volcanic heat. The impression of heat is intensified by a
contrasting section of black denim stitched in to enhance the orange tones of the pigments used.
White denim is used in Highs and Lows (2024) to create a different experience, here the denim sits alongside indigo denim and
smears of opaque pigment powder to suggest changing seasons. A faint pink skylight glows on right hand side of the landscape,
a winter sun disappearing behind the hills, leaving behind the muddy brown shades of winter. Black and white denim contrasts in
Only Human (2024) also feel like winter, here the sun has disappeared entirely but bursts of yellow marigold pigment hint at the
promise of spring.
The shimmering green velvet from the textile mountain was purchased from an antique furniture store in South Australia. The
store was closing down and Gallagher grabbed the opportunity to take the bolt of upholstery fabric which now forms part of the
landscape in The Remedy (2024) and The Radical Thought (2024). In both paintings Gallagher has used water to smooth
sections of the velvet pile, leaving a segment of crumpled velvet topography, where the small peaks of unsmoothed fabric capture
light.
Gallagher has a background in fashion completing a Bachelor of Design majoring in Fashion Design with first class honours from
Otago Polytechnic. Her connections with the fashion industry have led to her work being seen from a fashion perspective,
previous shows timed to coincide with fashion week events have hinted at her fashion past.
However, Gallagher’s interest in using discarded textiles has artworld precedents. Cuban born, Miami,
Florida-based artists Alain Guerra and Neraldo de la Paz the creative team behind Guerra de la Paz are known for their use
abandoned items of clothing which they sculpt into mountains and trees. This work draws attention to textile waste, notably fast
fashion, as a significant contributor to climate pollution and the destruction of our ecosystem.
Gallagher’s vision is more abstract, but like Guerra de la Paz’s sculptures, her landscapes are large (170cm high x 120 cm wide)
an expansiveness that allows the audience to inhabit the landscapes, to stand beside and imagine themselves in them.
In a further point of difference Guerra de la Paz used discarded clothing, whereas Gallagher mostly uses material from her own
design business, she still designs clothing. Where some designers use offcuts as fill for items like cushions, or incorporate
remnants into further designs, Gallagher’s offcuts are stitched back into the landscape sustaining a vision for preserving our
future. The fabric has its own stories to tell, unlike the discarded clothing used by Guerra de la Paz, Gallagher can trace the
origins of the textiles used. The textile landscapes in To Unpathed Waters hold personal stories of journeys from Australia to
Dunedin, of marks made from experimental textile dying, and of garments designed to treasure.
Natalie Smith, 2024