CLOTH THAT GROWS ON TREES

EXHIBITION AT THE TEXTILE MUSEUM OF CANADA

December 6, 2006 to April 15, 2007
Curated by Max Allen

Opening reception: December 6, 6:30 to 8:00 pm - remarks at 7:00

Sponsored by: CLASSICAL 96.3 FM and the George Lunan Foundation

TORONTO - November 2006. In tropical lands where the climate is too hot for the production of wool, silk or cotton, people do not make cloth by weaving it, but rather by pounding it from the bark of trees. Bark-cloth has been used, around the equator, since the dawn of history. But if you've never heard of this remarkable invention, you're not alone. This is the first major exhibition in a Canadian museum of the Cloth That Grows On Trees.

Distinct cultures from Africa, Southeast Asia, South America and Oceania all developed the same response to the need for textile coverings in an extreme environment. Cloth That Grows On Trees speaks to astonishing levels of ingenuity while still highlighting the universal human experience. The techniques required to coax useable cloth from tree bark are powerful examples of resourcefulness.

Cloth That Grows On Trees features beautiful and wearable bark-cloth garments, two-metre tall funeral masks, ceremonial regalia and contemporary bark-cloth art.

Drawn in large part from the permanent collection of the Textile Museum of Canada, bark-cloth is rich with cultural narratives. Bark-cloth surprised and intrigued the scientific explorers from Europe who came to the South Pacific islands in the 18th century. The great English explorer Captain James Cook, in this three Pacific voyages beginning in 1769, collected many samples of bark-cloth, and the artists and botanists in his crew recorded its techniques and uses. Young Queen Elizabeth II's first royal tour took her to the islands of the South Pacific. She was given a "red carpet" greeting with fabric that was neither red nor a carpet. It was actually bark-cloth rolled out for Her Majesty to walk upon.

The production of bark-cloth is alive and well today in some areas and is disappearing in others as imported woven cloth and clothing takes its place. Even though the everyday use of bark-cloth is vanishing, its use as a cultural marker is thriving. Always an industry of self-_expression_, bark-cloth adornment is a living and breathing contemporary art practice that is closely connected to nature. Cloth That Grows On Trees presents the work of three contemporary bark-cloth artists (Lila Gama, Jean Magreat Hoijo and Nerry Keme) whose pieces are so intertwined with the environment they are both dazzling to the eye and nurturing to the soul.

Image credit: Sarong (detail) from the Collingwood Bay area of Papua New Guinea, mid 20th century. From the Opekar/Webster collection, T94.0057. Textile Museum of Canada

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For additional information, interviews or images:

Contact Beth Sharpe at 416-599-5321 x2239 or email bethsharpe@textilemuseum.ca

PROGRAMS AND EVENTS

Barking up the Right Tree: Tour by exhibition curator Max Allen
Wednesday January 10, 6:30 pm
Why don't we pound tree bark to make textiles in North America? Discover the technology of making cloth without looms. Join Max Allen in the galleries for a discussion of Cloth That Grows On Trees.

Free with admission

Are Patterns Eternal? Lecture by exhibition curator Max Allen
Wednesday March 7, 6:30 pm
Can you tell where a textile comes from by what it looks like? Join Max Allen, curator of Cloth That Grows On Trees for an evening of investigation into Hawaiian shirts, the bark-cloths of Tonga, and the appearance of the "Other."
Members $8, Non-members $10,
Full-time students Pay-What-You-Can.

Please arrive early, seating is limited.

Kozo Drumming: One-Day Bark-Cloth and Paper, Workshop with Susan Warner Keene

Saturday January 20, 10:00 - 3:00 pm
Explore the unique properties of paper mulberry bark (kozo); learn how to cook and beat the bark, and how to prepare it for a variety of further embellishments. Susan Warner Keene is a Toronto papermaker and textile artist who exhibits her work nationally and internationally.
Workshop. Members $50, Non-members $65, Full time
students $40. Materials $20. Advance registration is required,
class size is limited. To register, call 416-599-5321 x2221.
Public lecture, 2:00 pm (included in workshop fee)
Members $8, Non-members $10,

Full-time students Pay-What-You-Can.

Pulp Fiction: One-Day Bark-Cloth Bookmaking, Workshop with Munuvé Mutisya
Saturday March 3, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Learn how to make a book out of bark-cloth and explore Kenyan bark-cloth traditions. Artist and historian Munuvé Mutisya is the founding director of the Community Peace Museums Foundation and Akamba Peace Museum, both in Kenya.
Workshop. Members $50, Non-members $65, Full time
students $40. Materials $15. Advance registration is required,
class size is limited. To register, call 416-599-5321 x2221.
Public lecture, 2:00 pm (included in workshop fee)
Members $8, Non-members $10,
Full-time students Pay-What-You-Can.

Textile Museum of Canada