The East Gippsland Winter Festival is officially here, and the highly anticipated Night Frocks @ Iceworks exhibition is ready to open its doors.
Everyone is welcome to attend the official opening at 5pm this Saturday, June 20, at Iceworks Studio in Carpenter Street, Lakes Entrance.
“Iceworks Studio’s textile artists, from near and far, have been re-making a collection of vintage French night dresses as artworks for the last year or so,” coordinator Andrea Lane said.
“Re-made, handmade, plus embellished — after being rescued by us from the French ‘fripperies’ (op shops).
“Now curated and installed with the inimitable artistry and dedication of Gary Yelen, the whole Iceworks crew are excited to be collaborating to launch the Night Frocks exhibition and a month of Lakes Entrance events to follow.”
Entry to the exhibition is free. The Iceworks team has also produced a collectible zine that will be on sale during opening night to help support local artists and enterprises.
“The frock collection has been photographed by Jes John, co-founder of Foundry and Froutville,” Ms Lane said.
“The zine has been beautifully designed by Iceworks-based artist Sean Lockhart. Wing nuts and bolts used for the zine binding have been sourced from Left Trade Gear and Home Hardware Lakes Entrance. Thanks team.”
Featured frock artists include Rachael Pollac, Julia Trezise, Amriel Trezise, Josephine Jakobi, Marlene Rees, Nele Jungenkrueger, Josh Willoughby, Irene Pagram, Carole Rigler, Barbara Roe Hebb, Liz Mitchelson, Tracie Bettina Mitchell, Jan Martin, Janis Simmonds, Vicki Brady, Gail Maddern, Anli Vuong, Leanne Flaherty, and Gary Yelen.
Iceworks Studio owner Gary Yelen explained that the project trace its roots back to Europe.
“We have grown an arts collective at Iceworks in Goding Lane, Lakes Entrance. Textile work is one of our favourite things,” Mr Yelen said.
“When we lived in France a few years ago, with our own petite gallery — Frukt.in.France — we couldn’t resist cheap night frocks whenever we saw them at the local fripperies for five or six euros a piece. They were expired nighties from the local asylums, made from flax grown and woven in local villages.
“We brought a box of blank frocks back to East Gippsland when we came home, and Night Frocks @ Iceworks was born.”
The exhibition will run from Saturday, June 20 to Sunday, July 12, open from 10am to 3pm daily.
Lakes Entrance will have a busy opening weekend with the Winter Solstice Dip taking place this Saturday at sunrise, kicking off a busy month across the region.
