Photograph by Sundae Studio, courtesy of Form.
Katie West is a Yindjibarndi woman working significantly, as if her hand was stained with poetry, among textiles, installation and social practice. In the last two years she’s been curated into many of this country’s most prestigious surveys, including The National 4and Ramsay Art Prize in 2023, and Primavera in 2022. Such recognition has afforded great momentum, taking her practice to the United States, where she is part of a travelling exhibition, soon showing at The Block Museum of Art in Chicago.
Indeed, Actions for the Earth: Art, Care & Ecology, curated by Sharmila Wood and produced by Independent Curators International, New York, is an exhibition about restorative interventions. Originally shown at the 2022 TarraWarra Biennale, West is participating with her work Clearing, 2019, an installation creating a social space with textiles for listening, thinking, conversing and reading. Clearing offers tactile cushions on the ground, underneath a large-scale drape hanging from the ceiling, offering a space of reflection. Nearby are books on First Nations knowledge, firmly inviting the viewer to clear their preconceptions and consider their positionality in this environment. For 2024, West is also participating in the Indian Ocean Craft Triennial: IOTA24 within an exhibition centering string crafts in Papua New Guinea and Aboriginal communities.