Young Narrabri designer Bronte Wright has cracked the national art scene after being hand picked to create a major installation at one of the country’s largest shopping centres.
Bronte, the daughter of Michelle Wilkinson and Reg Wright, recently graduated from the highly selective Whitehouse School of Design in Sydney, but several weeks prior to the ceremony she was approached by the Westfield marketing team to design a feature display for the store’s Chinese New Year celebrations.
Westfield management was extremely impressed with her proposal to hand weave giant lanterns made entirely of Australian wool, which tied in well with the Chinese Year of the Sheep, and she was immediately contracted to create the piece.
Bronte recruited the help of her father, Reg, who welded the metal frames of the lantern, and fellow Narrabri artist, Grace Cuell, who assisted with the weaving of 100 kilograms of wool.
With her formative years spent in the country, wool and cotton are Bronte’s favourite mediums to work with.
She explains how she created the lanterns.
“Instead of weaving in a traditional sense I weave 3D forms, working off the framework and creating the shape with that.
“Grace is really creative, great with textiles and great with her hands, so I taught her the different techniques and just let her go.
“Installation is really fun, it’s a challenge but I really enjoy creating something that will grab attention.”
The artwork ‘Tuánjié Lanterns’ (Tijuane is a chinese word for unity), will be on display for three weeks up until March 1, meaning Bronte’s work will receive great exposure and be seen by thousands of people.
“The Chinese New Year in Sydney is as big as Christmas, there’s a massive influx of people coming through the complex.
“It’s pretty surreal the amount of exposure that I’m getting,” Bronte said.
“Chinese people love wool, in the centre they are always looking for Australian wool, that’s why there’s an Ugg store on every corner in the city, so Westfield was looking to use wool and expand on that marketing potential.”
When she’s not carrying out work for major corporations, Bronte has her own homeware design collection ‘Staple and Seed’.
“I mainly draw my inspiration from the ability to create, using my hands to make things is like meditation for me,” she said.
“Using natural materials from our culture and Australian industries is a big part for me, I love the tactility, sustainability and diversity of wool.
“I use cotton as well, it’s unreal the amount of different things you can make from these fibres.”
Bronte’s family travelled to Sydney last Friday to attend her graduation ceremony and see her display in Westfield.