Although the individual pieces featured in the exhibition Lightweight may each weigh less than 500 grams, their collective impact is likely to leave a more substantial impression on Dunedin art-lovers.

Works from staff and students of Otago Polytechnic School of Art's Textiles department will be shown alongside those from the School of Art, Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra at Dunedin's Salisbury House Gallery.Although the individual pieces featured in the exhibition Lightweight may each weigh less than 500 grams, their collective impact is likely to leave a more substantial impression on Dunedin art-lovers.

Works from staff and students of Otago Polytechnic School of Art's Textiles department will be shown alongside those from the School of Art, Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra at Dunedin's Salisbury House Gallery."The public will never have seen so many different, contemporary textile works in one place," explains Christine Keller, Head of Textiles at Otago Polytechnic.

"There are simply not many schools that offer textiles anymore. At the School of Art we still have lecturers that are practicing; it's very special to have maintained that hands-on approach and I think it's something Dunedin audiences will appreciate."

The New Zealand artists exhibiting range from a Maori Master Weaver (Roka Cameron) who is currently completing her Master of Fine Arts, to Bachelor of Fine Arts student Jeanette Pearce, who will present her artistic interpretation of 'viral-spread' in a series of petri dishes. Other New Zealand artists include Jay Hutchinson, Victoria Bell and Jenny Bain.

Artists from Canberra include Julie Ryder, Valerie Kirk and Jennifer Robertson.

Keller predicts that audiences may notice a difference in the textile cultures of the two countries, perhaps influenced by the wider range of commercial opportunities available to graduates in Australia.

"In this show no work over 500 grams has been accepted; they all had to be lightweight," says Keller. "Nevertheless, we - as makers of this exhibition - would like to state that the impact of these works goes way beyond their physical weight."

When: 25-30 August 2007
Where: Salisbury House Gallery, 5 Smith Street Dunedin

20/8/07