Exhibition Dates: 25 November – 23 December 1998

After so many years of hardship, my robe is in tatters and half of it is now blown away with the wind. (Zen Saying)

The work of Linda Jackson is unique in Australian art and design. Once described as "the free spirit of Australian fashion" Jackson has extended her vision to incorporate painting, a form that was always there in her clothing. "I didn't even want to cut them into clothes so I devised really simple construction techniques leaving the artwork as intact as possible". 

Linda Jackson's designs incorporate a vast array of inspirations and influences. The vibrant colours of the Australian bush, opals and rainbows, the traditional dress of Asia and Africa all found expression in Jackson's patterns, shapes and colours. Jackson has travelled widely, including living and working throughout Papua New Guinea, Asia and Europe. In 1973 Jenny Kee opened Flamingo Park and filled it with Jackson's clothes, beginning a renowned partnership that lasted for ten years and pioneered "Art Clothing" in this country. Other collaborators included David McDiarmid, Peter Tully and Deborah Laser. Her designs have been shown in and are held in the collections of galleries and museums all over Australia, including the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Powerhouse Museum. Internationally, Jackson has shown in Dallas, London, Korea, Tokyo and Edinburgh.

Since the early 1980s, Jackson has regularly visited the Northern Territory. The colours of the landscape have been a recurring influence, and Jackson has expressed this in usual and inventive ways, printing with metallic and fluorescent colours, and using paper stencils and gum leaves. Her love of Central Australia led to Jackson basing herself in the Northern Territory since 1994, working as an educator with a number of Aboriginal artists and their communities, including Bima on Bathurst Island and Injalak in Arnhem Land. "I had the strong desire for a wandering life, giving myself up to the beauty of nature and the unknown, and to fulfil the dream to spend more time in Aboriginal communities," Jackson Says.

During 1996 Jackson lived in Broome on an Australia Council Fellowship, concentrating on painting and rug design. This resulted in a body of work entitled Perl Coast paintings and Indigo textiles, incorporating African and Japanese methods of dyeing and patterning cloth. In 1997 Jackson returned to Alice Springs, where she continued to focus on her painting. She also spent time working on a textile project with the women from Keringke Arts at Santa Teresa Community. The work in the exhibition charts a journey, with Jackson's symbols and images evolving into simpler and more essential expanses of colour and shape. This current show is the culmination of two years' work, including paintings, rugs, and chiffon fabrics or "ethereal landscapes".

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Linda Jackson Boabs, 1998; acrylic on canvas; 120 x 145 cm; triptych; enquire
Boabs, 1998
acrylic on canvas
120 x 145 cm; triptych
Linda Jackson Red Dust, 1998; acrylic on canvas; 120 x 110 cm; diptych; enquire
Red Dust, 1998
acrylic on canvas
120 x 110 cm; diptych
Linda Jackson Green River, 1998; acrylic on canvas; 120 x 110 cm; diptych; enquire
Green River, 1998
acrylic on canvas
120 x 110 cm; diptych
Linda Jackson Blue River, 1998; acrylic on canvas; 120 x 110 cm; diptych; enquire
Blue River, 1998
acrylic on canvas
120 x 110 cm; diptych
Linda Jackson Desert River, 1998; acrylic on canvas; 120 x 75 cm; enquire
Desert River, 1998
acrylic on canvas
120 x 75 cm
Linda Jackson Hills and Green River, 1998; acrylic on canvas; 120 x 75 cm; enquire
Hills and Green River, 1998
acrylic on canvas
120 x 75 cm
Linda Jackson Hills and Blue River, 1998; acrylic on canvas; 120 x 75 cm; enquire
Hills and Blue River, 1998
acrylic on canvas
120 x 75 cm
Linda Jackson Red Dusty Wind, 1998; acrylic on canvas; 120 x 75 cm; enquire
Red Dusty Wind, 1998
acrylic on canvas
120 x 75 cm
Linda Jackson Orange Sunset, 1998; acrylic on canvas; 120 x 75 cm; enquire
Orange Sunset, 1998
acrylic on canvas
120 x 75 cm
Linda Jackson Blue Sky, 1998; acrylic on canvas; 120 x 75 cm; enquire
Blue Sky, 1998
acrylic on canvas
120 x 75 cm
Linda Jackson Boab, 1998; acrylic on canvas; 120 x 75 cm; enquire
Boab, 1998
acrylic on canvas
120 x 75 cm
Linda Jackson Wildflowers, 1998; acrylic on canvas; 120 x 75 cm; enquire
Wildflowers, 1998
acrylic on canvas
120 x 75 cm
Linda Jackson Wildflowers, 1998; acrylic on canvas; 120 x 75 cm; enquire
Wildflowers, 1998
acrylic on canvas
120 x 75 cm
Linda Jackson Opal Sunset, 1998; acrylic on canvas; 120 x 75 cm; enquire
Opal Sunset, 1998
acrylic on canvas
120 x 75 cm
Linda Jackson Opal Country, 1997; acrylic on canvas; 120 x 75 cm; enquire
Opal Country, 1997
acrylic on canvas
120 x 75 cm
Linda Jackson Opal Country, 1997; acrylic on canvas; 120 x 75 cm; enquire
Opal Country, 1997
acrylic on canvas
120 x 75 cm
Linda Jackson Billabong, 1997; acrylic on canvas; 120 x 75 cm; enquire
Billabong, 1997
acrylic on canvas
120 x 75 cm
Linda Jackson The Road, 1997; acrylic on canvas; 120 x 75 cm; enquire
The Road, 1997
acrylic on canvas
120 x 75 cm
Linda Jackson River, 1998; acrylic on canvas; 120 x 70 cm; enquire
River, 1998
acrylic on canvas
120 x 70 cm
Linda Jackson Five Boabs, 1998; Acrylic on wood; 44 x 60 cm; enquire
Five Boabs, 1998
Acrylic on wood
44 x 60 cm
Linda Jackson Four Boabs, 1998; acrylic on wood; 44 x 60 cm; enquire
Four Boabs, 1998
acrylic on wood
44 x 60 cm
Linda Jackson Desert Waterhole, 1998; acrylic on wood; 44 x 60 cm; enquire
Desert Waterhole, 1998
acrylic on wood
44 x 60 cm
Linda Jackson Sandhills and River, 1998; acrylic on wood; 44 x 60 cm; enquire
Sandhills and River, 1998
acrylic on wood
44 x 60 cm
Linda Jackson Boab, 1998; acrylic on wood; 54 x 30 cm; enquire
Boab, 1998
acrylic on wood
54 x 30 cm
Linda Jackson Boab and Pearls, 1998; acrylic on wood; 54 x 30 cm; enquire
Boab and Pearls, 1998
acrylic on wood
54 x 30 cm
Linda Jackson Boab and Pearls, 1998; acrylic on wood; 54 x 30 cm; enquire
Boab and Pearls, 1998
acrylic on wood
54 x 30 cm
Linda Jackson Two Boabs, 1998; acrylic on wood; 54 x 30 cm; enquire
Two Boabs, 1998
acrylic on wood
54 x 30 cm
Linda Jackson Boab, 1998; acrylic on wood; 54 x 30 cm; enquire
Boab, 1998
acrylic on wood
54 x 30 cm
Linda Jackson Desert Rivers, 1998; pure new wool; 240 x 170 cm; enquire
Desert Rivers, 1998
pure new wool
240 x 170 cm
Linda Jackson Billabong, 1998; pure new wool; 240 x 170 cm; enquire
Billabong, 1998
pure new wool
240 x 170 cm
Linda Jackson Desert Road, 1998; pure new wool; 240 x 170 cm; enquire
Desert Road, 1998
pure new wool
240 x 170 cm
Linda Jackson Boab, 1998; pure new wool; 240 x 170 cm; enquire
Boab, 1998
pure new wool
240 x 170 cm
Linda Jackson Desert Boab, 1998; pure new wool; 80 x 60 cm; enquire
Desert Boab, 1998
pure new wool
80 x 60 cm
Linda Jackson Opal Landscape, 1998; pure new wool; 240 x 170 cm; enquire
Opal Landscape, 1998
pure new wool
240 x 170 cm
Linda Jackson Orange and Rust, 1998; pure new wool; 80 x 60 cm; enquire
Orange and Rust, 1998
pure new wool
80 x 60 cm
Linda Jackson Blue and Rust, 1998; pure new wool; 80 x 60 cm; enquire
Blue and Rust, 1998
pure new wool
80 x 60 cm
Linda Jackson Black and White, 1998; pure new wool; 80 x 60 cm; enquire
Black and White, 1998
pure new wool
80 x 60 cm
Linda Jackson Black and White, 1998; pure new wool; 80 x 60 cm; enquire
Black and White, 1998
pure new wool
80 x 60 cm
Linda Jackson Black and Gold Works on Chiffon, 1998; hand painted silk chiffon; enquire
Black and Gold Works on Chiffon, 1998
hand painted silk chiffon
Linda Jackson Spinifex Works on Chiffon, 1998; hand painted silk chiffon; enquire
Spinifex Works on Chiffon, 1998
hand painted silk chiffon
Linda Jackson Desert Works on Chiffon, 1998; hand painted silk chiffon; enquire
Desert Works on Chiffon, 1998
hand painted silk chiffon