Nicole Robins

Basketry and Fibre Art

My basketry is materials based – focused on the plants I grow and use from the contemporary plant world in Sydney. I use traditional techniques from basketry while embracing Sydney’s diverse plant life. I am interested in documenting the plant world we live in and less in functional basketry pieces. Environmental considerations and the sustainable element of my work are very important. I like to use whole, recognisable fibres whenever I can, juxtaposing indigenous plants, exotics and, yes, even ‘weeds’. 

I think it is a reflection of modern living that many artists are striving to bring the natural world into our interior landscapes – to soften and add texture to our built environments. In my own work I see this longing for a deeper connection to the world of plants. I think my pieces also have a relationship to the basketry ‘vessel' yet most pieces are not functional baskets. They are also part of the fibre art and textile world – creating texture and warmth for our interiors in the way that rugs can. Many are wall sculptures.  I think that hanging work can make a statement also about valuing artisanal objects and considering them as art worthy of putting on our walls. Not everyone realizes that all baskets are handmade and that the gathering, drying, soaking and weaving process takes considerable time. The politics of the slow craft/ slow stitch movements have great resonance for me.  

I started making after a workshop in Sydney’s Botanical Gardens in 2011 with Meri Peach.  It was a new direction for me but brings together many loves, including one for natural fibres. I lived for 7 years in Latin America in my 20s and early 30s and it feels like I have been looking at basketry and weaving and craft all around the globe for a long time. I am drawn to the artistry and texture of handicrafts everywhere and how living arts relate so closely to people’s lives – often women’s. As a non-Indigenous Australian weaver, I am also extremely privileged to have grown up around some of the most beautiful fibre art in the world.  The learning and inspiration from being able to see, and even pick up and examine exquisite work from Australia’s First Nations’ makers is immeasurable. Out of respect for ancient traditional designs and vibrant contemporary cultures non-Indigenous makers have a role to play – beginning with learning about ICIP (Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property). For me this means that I don’t use materials, designs or even language which I think is intrinsic to the fibre art made by Indigenous artists. Of course, this line will always be a fine and nuanced one that artists need to keep talking about here in Australia, but it does need to be a central consideration for us, since many of the techniques used in basketry have a long history across many cultures. 

Recent Exhibitions: 

I am a member of Basketry NSW and exhibit in annual exhibitions.

2017 Sobremesa exhibition with Brenda Livermore at Project Space in North Sydney

2017 North Sydney Art Prize finalist, at the Coal Loader, Waverton

2017 Finalist for Artisans in the Gardens at the Royal Botanical Gardens  

2018 Finalist in Seed Stitch Contemporary Textile Awards at the Australian Design Centre

2019 North Sydney Art Prize finalist, at the Coal Loader, Waverton 

2019 Solo exhibition Totes Serious, Bridget Kennedy Project Space, North Sydney

2019 Finalist, Cooks River Small Sculpture Prize, 10th Greenway Art Prize, Inner West Council

2020 The Space Within group ceramics and fibre art at Sabbia Gallery, Sydney

2020 Finalist in Seed Stitch Contemporary Textile Awards at the Australian Design Centre

2020 Co-curator with Rebecca O’Connell of ‘Basketry: A Community Beyond Borders’ – a ten day digital project for Basketry NSW in Sydney Craft Week 2020

2020 Winner of the 2020 Greenway Open Art Prize, which includes a two-week solo exhibition at the Art Est Gallery in Leichhardt in 2021

2021 Solo exhibition The Green Room – when nature moves in, Art Est Gallery, Leichhardt.