Weaving Through Time in Tamworth
A special visit to our touring exhibition
This October, I feel incredibly fortunate to have visited JamFactory ICON Aunty Ellen Trevorrow: Weaving Through Time at Tamworth Regional Gallery, as the exhibition continues its touring journey.
Walking into the gallery and seeing the exhibition installed in a new place was very special. Surrounded by woven forms, sculptural pieces, wearable works and objects created across different periods, I could step back and reflect on the creative journey that has brought us to this moment.
A collaboration woven through time
This exhibition holds a very special place in my life. Weaving Through Time brings together the creative collaboration between Aunty Ellen Trevorrow and me, Jelina Haines, developed through our longstanding relationship, shared making, experimentation and exchange of ideas.
Seeing our collaborative works installed in Tamworth was quite extraordinary. Away from where they were first created, I was able to step back and see the works in another way, surrounded by Aunty Ellen’s remarkable weaving practice and the wider story of culture, creativity and continuity that the exhibition carries.
My sincere thanks to JamFactory for supporting my travel to Tamworth, which made it possible for me to visit the touring exhibition in person. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to see this chapter of our collaborative journey presented to audiences in New South Wales.
Seeing the works in a new space
The Tamworth installation gave me another perspective on the works.
From across the gallery, the woven garments and sculptural forms have a striking physical presence. Moving closer reveals something different: intricate fibres, open and tightly worked surfaces, changes in texture, layers of material and the extraordinary detail within individual pieces.
My photographs from the visit capture both perspectives, from the exhibition as a whole to the beautiful details that can only really be appreciated when standing beside the works.
There was also something meaningful about simply being there. After years of making, conversations, experimenting and working alongside Aunty Ellen, seeing the exhibition travelling and encountering it again in Tamworth provided a moment to pause and reflect on how far the journey has come.
Culture, creativity and continuity
At the centre of Weaving Through Time is Aunty Ellen’s extraordinary practice and commitment to Ngarrindjeri culture and weaving.
For me, our collaboration has always been about more than producing objects. It has developed through relationship, learning, conversation and creative experimentation over many years.
The exhibition offers an opportunity for audiences to encounter this story through material and form, while recognising Aunty Ellen’s knowledge, creativity and continuing contribution as an artist and cultural practitioner.
A moment to remember
Of course, I had to take one photograph of myself inside the exhibition.
It is a simple photograph, but for me it records something significant: being able to stand among the works in Tamworth and witness another chapter in the life of an exhibition that carries so many years of making, friendship, collaboration and memories.
I am enormously grateful to Aunty Ellen for the journey we have shared, and to JamFactory for its continuing support and for making my visit to Tamworth possible through travel support and, of course, a special thank you to Emma and the staff from the Tamworth Regional Gallery for the support.
I look forward to seeing where Weaving Through Time travels back to South Australia next year – the final touring destination at the Murray Bridge Regional Gallery.
Visit the exhibition
JamFactory ICON Aunty Ellen Trevorrow:
Weaving Through Time
Tamworth Regional Gallery
Address: 466 Peel Street
Tamworth, NSW 2340
17 October – 29 November 2026
Opening hours
Tuesday to Sunday, 10 AM – 4 PM
Phone: (02) 6767 5247
Photographs from my visit to Tamworth Regional Gallery, October 2026.