Held online on the 23rd April 2022, artist Caroline McQuarrie discussed the TC2 Digital Loom and her work with the technology. Her exhibition ‘This Blasted Heath’ at Jhana Millers Gallery saw her Incorporating landscape photographs hand woven into fabric on a TC2 digital Jacquard loom, ‘This Blasted Heath’ depicts small, overlooked sites in Te Waipounamu, Aotearoa. Exploring Pākehā histories of Te Waipounamu and the complexities inherent in being a Pākehā in a colonised country.
As their complexity increases, the objects of technology that we use everyday become more and more mystifying to the average user. Most of us are able to competently operate our cellphones or computers, however much less are able to confidently explain how or why a given piece of technology works. This was the third in a series of five seminars, with each guest presenter an arts practitioner who explores the social and artistic aspects of technology through their work.
Caroline McQuarrie is an interdisciplinary artist who has long been exploring personal and familial histories, and the role that the photograph and the hand-crafted textile might play in representing or questioning these narratives. Curiosity about what is tangible and what is intangible, what traces remain, and whose lived experiences are valued enough to be recorded, are strong drivers for her practice. Caroline is a Senior Lecturer in Photography at Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts Massey University. carolinemcquarrie.com/