Kerri Weymouth - July 2021 Artist of the Month
Our July Artist of the Month is multidisciplinary artist and art therapist, Kerri Weymouth. Coming from a family legacy of creative excellence, Kerri has kept the flame alive as one of our region’s leading art practitioners.
Exposure to artistic relatives led Kerri Weymouth to find enjoyment in creativity from an early age. Her Aunty, artist Beverley Weymouth would babysit her and let her play with her oil paints, her Uncle Kerry Smith was also an artist had designed the Junee High School emblem and her Uncle designer Ross Weymouth, would have a critical impact on her future career trajectory. “I was always interested in art and fashion as a younger person, I used to draw fashion. I remember going out to my Nanna’s as a child, she would go through Ross’s postcards of overseas trips, and my sister and I would climb into his dresses and twirl around loving the colours and fabrics. He had a shop in Hay that Aunty Jill Kulper managed. I remember when Ross and John came to Hay from Melbourne with all these beautiful tall models to bring a city fashion parade to Hay. As a young girl all of the glamour and excitement inspired and interested me.”
As a teenager, Kerri relocated from Darlington Point to Melbourne to live and work with her influential and award-winning fashion designer Uncles Ross Weymouth and John Claringbold. “I wrote to Ross and John and asked if I could come down there and work because I had done work experience with them through school and loved the vibe of Melbourne. It was the best thing I had done in my whole entire life. It was something I was drawn to. I learnt many life lessons and many skills that would help me through my life, I’m forever grateful for their guidance. I lived and worked with them for about three years in Melbourne and continued working for them when they retired to Darlington Point.”
John Claringbold and Kerri Weymouth in Melbourne.
Kerri spent her time working in her Uncle’s Melbourne workrooms in the eighties learning the entirety of their dress-making processes, including skills such as embroidery, cutting, sewing and beadwork. “They obviously influenced me. Their attention to detail is a big thing. I would constantly redo things to get it right. If you’re doing fine beading on people’s evening gowns or wedding gowns you’ve got to have it right, John said I was the only employee that he had to tell to stop beading as I enjoyed seeing the gown come to life with as many beads as possible! Hand sewing linings in and hand sewing zips in, it makes for a unique piece that’s hand-finished Haute Couture. I now like to make sure my work is presented nicely with that same attention to detail.”
Life in Melbourne offered Kerri many unique experiences and opportunities: “I was working in the Nicholas Building on the corner of Swanston Street and Flinders Lane and running around Melbourne doing errands going to the bead shop, material shops, haberdashery shops and the button lady. Nina Gregory was also in the building, she was an artist who John bought quite a few art pieces from that I also loved. The other creatives working in the building were tailors, furriers and jewellers. There used to be an artist across the road and I would go to his art group. I felt privileged because I was the youngest person there. I’d go to Ross and John’s fashion parades and would love to be back stage dressing the models. They nicknamed me the ‘Champagne Kid’ because the first thing I would do was order the champagne and I’d sip the champagne while I dressed the girls.”
Kerri moved back to the Riverina, married and had a family of three beautiful children. Her Uncles later moved to the Riverina after several years, continuing to work in fashion and textiles at their Griffith based store. Kerri would later go on to create a body of work and an accompanying exhibition titled Remnants (2017) at the Griffith Regional Art Gallery utilising the gallery’s Couture Collection to honour her Uncles who had passed in 2007. Kerri has plans to expand on this exhibition in the future.
Kerri’s work blends the two contrasting worlds she inhabits of metropolitan high fashion and regional landscapes: “I really enjoyed working with the fabrics, the beads and the laces. But then I also like the real earthy grit and fragility of nature. Growing up, I used to go with my Dad who would go out wood chopping, fishing and at one time hunted kangaroos and rabbits for a living. We would often go out with him into the bush running around and exploring nature. I have my interest in fashion and all those glamorous things that sparkle and shine and then I have a great passion and interest in the bush and nature. I like to bring that all together. I like experimenting and exploring seeing where the process takes my art. I’m looking forward to further exploring this in the future.”
Kerri’s works inspired and created through Willandra residency, printed by Basil Hall.
Close up detail.
Since completing her Masters of Therapeutic Art Practice at MIECAT, Kerri has been helping people heal through art therapy. “It’s a form of psychotherapy or counselling which uses arts-based activities to enhance mental, physical, and emotional well-being through creative expression. It can help participants to connect with and express thoughts and feelings that are hard to communicate. Talking about their art and the process can help in making sense, resolve issues, gain insight of their experiences. Art Therapy can improve self-esteem, self-worth, confidence and reduce stress and help with the general wellbeing of the participant. It’s not about producing a ‘pretty’ picture but rather, the process of art making itself. So there is no artistic skill required, there is no right or wrong way to express yourself. I know how beneficial art has been to me. Even as a child growing up, I always went to art. After doing this course I realised art helped me get through a lot of things in my life. I love to share this with others and hopefully I can help people through difficult times in their life or just in helping them with their general wellbeing.”
Kerri has a professional membership with ANZACATA and is also NDIS registered, and she is currently continuing her study with a course in Healing Trauma with Guided Drawing. She is interested in studying eco therapy because of her connection to the bush and nature. Kerri will be continuing this work at her new Art Therapy studio opening at the new Griffith Community Centre later in 2021.
Kerri’s explorations through expressive art during her MIECAT studies.
Kerri’s work extends into various community groups and workshops. One such group is the Murrumbidgee Arts Kinship Enterprise (MAKE) Group, which was established through Murrumbidgee Council’s Creative Ageing Program, with funding supported by Western Riverina Arts through a CASP grant acquired by Waddi Housing. Kerri has facilitated the group’s workshops and their weekly meet ups for the last six years. She notes the crossover between her art therapy and her community-based work: “Community work is how I got into art therapy. I could see in working with community how art does help. I like working with community and encouraging other people to have their art practice, to be creative, to be able to express themselves through their art. The MAKE group have had a couple of their own exhibitions and displayed in joint exhibitions. I think people get a buzz. They do their artwork, and they don’t really appreciate it but then they’ll see it up on a wall in a gallery, and think ‘Oh my gosh, I’m not too bad. That’s alright.’ I think it’s good for their self-confidence and their self-healing. It gives them a sense of community and well-being.”
Members of the MAKE Group at Griffith Regional Art Gallery.
In 2020 Kerri interned in the role of Local Producer with the Cad Factory on two community projects: “I really enjoyed working with the Cad Factory. They are professional, they are serious artists with a great passion. It was great to work with them as they have a high standard of work ethics and are proficient in their art making.” As Local Producer Kerri worked with artist Julie Montgarrett on the ‘Bidgee Bunyips’ textile project with artists from Darlington Point and Coleambally, which saw one-of-a-kind bunyip sculptures exhibited at the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery Shop.
The Bidgee Bunyips on display at Wagga Wagga Art Gallery Shop.
Kerri’s Bidgee Bunyip, Priscilla Queen of the Murrumbidgee.
During the second project Kerri worked with local artists Andrea Briggs, Dexter Briggs, Owen Lyons and Michael Lyons to produce 'Life on the Sandhills' a permanent collection on display at the Narrandera Library, which explored memories of over fifty families growing up in the Sandhills after the closure of Warangesda Former Aboriginal Mission. “I was honoured and appreciative that they felt safe enough and respected enough to work with them on an important project about their home.” Kerri collected plant matter from the sandhills area and dyed the 600 GSM paper the artists used with those samples. “A part of the Sandhills is in that artwork. You couldn’t see it in Owen’s work because it was painted over, but it was still important to him that it was there, that it was underneath and in the body of the canvas. I thought that was really special.” Sarah McEwan, Creative Producer at the Cad Factory reflected on the time Kerri spent in the role: “At the Cad Factory it was a pleasure working with Kerri to support her delivery of two projects, 'Life on the Sandhills' and 'Bidgee Bunyips'. Both of these projects had so much meaning and consideration built into their foundations because Kerri deeply values her community and wants to share their voices in a way that honours their lives. We learnt a lot from these projects and Kerri over the year she spent working with us in the position of Local Producer.”
L-R: Dexter Briggs, Michael Lyons, Owen Lyons, Kerri Weymouth, Sarah McEwan and Vic McEwan at the launch of Life on the Sandhills at the Narrandera Library.
Body image is a theme that Kerri often revisits and analyses throughout her works: “I find as I’m getting older it’s more important, and I think it’s because as I’m getting older the more comfortable I am with myself and grateful. I can see it in magazines, movies, social media, that you feel like you have to fit a certain image. There are beautiful young girls, who feel they need have to go and fork out $500 or more to plump their lips up? It’s so sad, but as a society, people are made to feel that they’ve got to look a certain way to be in with the trends. I find it really sad and then I worry about my granddaughters, will they too feel like they need to look a certain way and reshape themselves to be accepted by society? With youth suicide being an important issue, I think it’s sad that people don’t feel enough and have to waste our lives feeling like they have to look a certain way to be accepted in society.”
Above: Still from The Round Room - Interactive Installation by Kerri Weymouth a film by Camille Whitehead for Western Riverina Arts. The Round Room was part of Griffith Regional Art Gallery’s Each For Equal exhibition.
‘Understanding Alopecia’ was a body of work that Kerri used to explore the affects of autoimmune disease on her mind and body and the journey of change she undertook. The exhibition raised awareness, and aimed to encourage understanding, and appreciation of the disease and had the support of the Australia Alopecia Areata Foundation. “I worked with Basil Hall Master print maker producing poster screen prints of the different stages I went through with my alopecia. It was a really rewarding and safe process working with Basil connecting in his own way as his daughter had alopecia from from an early age. We had discussions as we did the artwork, on his experiences as a parent. I think I’ve been lucky because it was later on in life and I didn’t really care about my hair. I wasn’t really a ‘hair person’. I could never get the right cut anyway and had bad hair days all the time, so it suits me. It was nice working with Basil through that process because he had a personal understanding.”
Understanding Alopecia exhibition at Griffith Regional Art Gallery’s ArtHub.
Kerri’s work spans from thoughtful to the whimsical as can be seen in her commissioned couture canine range ‘Hot Diggety Damn’. Kerri used skills learnt under her Uncle’s fashion house to create unique costumes for Charles and Christa Billich’s famous pooch Charlie. Kerri first connected with the Billich’s at a Murrumbidgee Council Australia Day ceremony where they were ambassadors. Knowing how much Christa loved dressing up Charlie in extravagant costumes, Kerri reached out to offer her services. “I had missed doing the work I had learned from Ross and John. I thought it would be really cool creating the little outfits and getting a buzz from that.” Kerri completed two puppy gowns and delivered them to the Billich penthouse in Sydney and attended openings at the Billich gallery at the Rocks.
Charlie Billich wearing Hot Diggety Damn.
Christa Billich unboxing Kerri’s couture costume.
Kerri firmly believes in the benefits that art provides communities and encourages all ages to give it a go “I tell the creative ageing groups, it doesn’t matter what age you are just do what you feel is right. Go with what you want to do and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. Just do what you feel in your heart and your soul and go with it. Don’t let anything hold you back, just do it. It’s not about the end result it’s about the process that’s most rewarding.”
Upcoming projects of Kerri’s include the soon-to-be opened Gallery at Waddi Cultural & Heritage Centre. In the position of Gallery Curator, Kerri is currently working with Griffith Regional Art Gallery Coordinator Raymond Wholohan to establish a permanent section dedicated to the history of Warangesda and a gallery space. Kerri is also collaborating with Elder June Weymouth on a special feature in the gallery that will be revealed at its opening, when COVID-19 permits.
In the meantime you can connect with Kerri on Instagram to keep up to date with her projects, or enjoy two new public works made in collaboration with Bohie Palecek at Wiradjuri Walk in Darlington Point.
Kerri with public work made in collaboration with Bohie Palecek at Wiradjuri Walk, Darlington Point.
Story and select images by Camille Whitehead, Friday 23rd July 2021.
