Rings of history: Introduction

Rings of history: Contemporary craft from historical timbers

Introduction

No single natural resource has been so hotly contested, misunderstood, plundered and cherished as Australian native forests.
Rings of History: Contemporary Craft from Historical Timber is an exhibition that focuses on this natural resource and our essential relationship to it.

The contemporary works in this exhibition are carved, assembled and turned from de-accessioned timber from the Dadswell Collection. Eric Dadswell was a pioneer in native forest research. His work during the 1930s documented, for the first time in Australian History, the diversity of Australian Eucalypts. It is a unique collection containing some rare and now extinct species of timber. Since this collection was established some of the forests where the timbers were harvested have been declared National Parks, reflecting our changing value of this natural resource.

Rings of History: Contemporary craft from historical timbers has distilled the issues presented by this collection into three main themes that are explored further in this catalogue. These are: Collection of a collection; Crafting traditions; and Environmental shifts.

Rings of History toured the following venues around Australia, between 2001 and 2003.

Craft ACT Gallery	1 May - 3 Jun 2001
Port Macquarie- Hastings Regional Gallery	14 Jun - 29 Jul 2001
Lismore Regional Gallery	9 Aug - 9 Sep 2001
Craft Queensland	21 Sep - 9 Nov 2001
Cooloola Shire Public Gallery	21 Nov 2001 - 6 Jan 2002
Riddoch Regional Art Gallery	28 Jan - 3 Mar 2002
Araluen Centre NT	16 Mar- 21 Apr2002
Flinders Art Museum City Gallery	3 May - 2 Jun 2002
Bunbury Regional Gallery	14 Jun - 28 Jul 2002
Gippsland Art Gallery	31 Aug - 29 Sep 2002
Geelong Gallery	1 Nov 2002 - 17 Jan 2003
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery	31 Jan - 16 Mar 2003
Object, Australian Centre for Craft and Design	28 Mar - 25 May 2003

A r t i s t s

Ian Gutheridge
Graham Kilian
Luis Nheu
Adrian Potter
Bo Schmitt
Georgina Donovan
Anthony Hansen
Claire Owen
Niningka Lewis
Ian Munday
Topsy Tjulyata
Keith Towe
Matthew Harding
Peter Lowe
Kevin Perkins
Roy Schack
Andrew Wood
Damian Wright

S p o n s o r s

Visions of Australia
NETS Australia
Metis
Australia Council
Object
Arts ACT
ANU Forestry
The Australian National University

Acknowledgements

This exhibition was initiated and managed by Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre in conjunction with the Forestry Department of the Australian National University and the Museums and Galleries Foundation of NSW NETS, and the National Exhibition Program (NEP) managed by Object-Australian Centre for Craft and Design in association with Craft Organisations Australia. NEP is funded by the Commonwealth Government through the Australia Council.

This Exhibition is supported by Visions of Australia. Visions of Australia is the Commonwealth's national touring exhibitions grant program. It assists with the development or touring of cultural exhibitions across Australia.

Craft ACT is assisted by the ACT Government through its Cultural Council and by the Australia Council, the Federal Government's arts funding and advisory body.

Next: Collection of a collection