Bizarre beings have been sighted in Broome.
From the glowing red dirt of the Kimberley, Perth Woman Magazine’s
Monique Richards unearths Broome’s weird and wonderful secret…
Ever wanted to see a football player in a tutu? Come on, who hasn’t! Broome’s Be Active Worn Art show is where such fantasies come true. The show is literally a collection of works of art for the body, all competing to win section prizes and an over all prize. Made from everything imaginable; from old umbrellas to lollies, chicken wire to expanding foam, the creations at Be Active Worn Art have zero limits. Some are alive, some get eaten. All are like nothing you’ve seen on the catwalk before. This is where fashion and art collide.
The show was inspired by the highly successful Montana World of Wearable art show in New Zealand. Be Active Worn Art is now the highlight of the year on Broome’s calendar, attracting entrants from around the Kimberley, and even the world. In a great display of team work and determination Barbara Richards, Gwendolyn Knox, and Chris Hill got the unique Broome show off the ground ten years ago. The show celebrated this anniversary in October this year.
"The show is literally a collection of works of art for the body, all competing to win section prizes and an over all prize. All are like nothing you’ve seen on the catwalk before. This is where fashion and art collide."
Barbara Richards: The woman with the vision.
“I was pushing people to do something they’d never heard of,” says Barbara Richards, “because I really believed in it.”
In many ways, the Be Active Worn Art show has become what it is due to Barbara being who she is. When Barbara believes in something she is tenacious, she is pushy, and she doesn’t give up.
In the early days of Be Active Worn Art her biggest challenge was convincing people to get involved. With time, money and energy as precious as ever, people were reluctant to put in the huge effort required to make a Worn Art entry, without knowing for sure if the show would succeed. “It was hard because nobody knew about it yet. I tried to encourage them with videos and leaflets, and people were running away from me in the street! In the end Gwen and I made seven of the costumes for the first show.”
A resident of Broome at the time, Barbara’s initial inspiration came when took a trip to her hometown of Nelson in New Zealand. There she saw the now highly successful Montana World of Wearable Art show. Her mother back in Nelson also sent her pamphlets about WOW. Her imagination was sparked, and she could see such a show taking off in Broome. “I thought it suited Broome. It’s a very culturally strong place, with a lot of performers and creative people.”
During those early days Barbara and Gwen found themselves undertaking a variety of roles, some completely foreign. “I’d never put on a show like that before,” Barbara says. “I had to organize all the artists and the prizes.” Also a talented photographer, she took many of the stunning shots of the entries into the show.
The persistence shown by Barbara, Gwen and Chris has really paid off for Broome. Now living in Fremantle, Barbara was invited back to be a guest judge for the show’s 10th anniversary. “It was really fantastic to go back there and see that it was still going,” she says, “it was a really fun atmosphere. We’re all really happy with the winner who has put in a lot of work.”
Barbara’s creative enterprise has turned to restoring Antique furniture, and collecting retro and old wares. As with everything she does, she attacks this venture passionately, and is achieving success. Barbara works at Old Values retro and old wares shop in East Fremantle, where her vision and funky style are already leaving their mark.
Gwendolyn Knox: Artistic Director of Be Active Worn Art.
“The biggest challenges often have the biggest rewards,” says Gwen Knox, reflecting on the challenges of Worn Art’s early days. “Barbara came back from Nelson and said she had this really good idea. She kept saying ‘you could do this Gwen …we could do this.’ One day she caught me at a weak moment, I said ‘ok let’s do it,’ and the rest is history!I have memories of Barbara chasing people down the street and jumping out from behind cars trying to get an entry out of them.”
Gwen and her partner Chris Hill now run Be Active Worn Art. Chris is responsible for the show’s beautiful sets and oversees general production. Both he and Gwen undertake numerous other roles to make the annual show a success.
A particular entry Gwen fondly remembers was a costume made from living Wheat Grass. The entry consisted of three tutus with a base of sphagnum moss and the Wheat Grass growing on them hydroponically. “The artist had special permission to go back stage to water the Wheat Grass,” says Gwen. “The models could eat their costumes as they walked around the stage!”
Gwen describes the Broome show as somewhere artists can, “play and be creative. The emphasis isn’t on selling so there’s more freedom to explore.”
“Every year I still think ‘Oh my god, what if no one puts in an entry?!’” Says Gwen, though in the shows tenth year, that’s no longer a problem. Audience numbers have grown from about 100 at the first show to over 500 this year. “Willie Creek Pearls were our major sponsor this year, providing all the major prizes for the artists. They, along with other local businesses, also provided lucky dip prizes for every entrant.”
The highlight for Gwen is seeing talented young people who have grown through Be Active Worn Art. “There is a group of young girls who have been involved since they were little. Now they are brilliant young women, and a couple of our boys have grown into very talented aerial artists. That side of it is really pleasing to me.”
Lesley Marsh: Joint Over All Winner: Be Active Worn Art.
Around Lesley Marsh’s neck sits a stunning Willie Creek Pearl necklace. Lesley and her mother-in-law, Val Burton, are the joint over all winners of this years Be Active Worn Art show.
Lesley and Val collaborated on a ten piece Japanese inspired extravaganza named ‘From Ukyioe to Manga.’
“I told Val ‘I’ll do five, you have to do the other five,’” laughs Lesley. The anniversary show’s theme was, ‘the floating world. The floating world was a group of Japanese artists that were around during the time of the samurais known as the ‘Ukyioe’ period. Lesley and Val also won the prize for their section; a second Willie Creek pearl necklace. “It worked out perfectly,” Lesley says.
The 2007 joint over all winner speaks proudly of Be Active Worn Art’s professionalism. “We’re right up there with the best of them. We have stilt-walkers, jugglers, and professional lighting. We source acrobats from Circus Australia, and a professional aerial artist who comes up to teach workshops.”
Lesley is a veteran of Be Active Worn Art, having entered for the previous eight years. An ex-pat kiwi, she returns to New Zealand each year where she sources most of her materials. It was significant also that this year Lesley entered both the Broome and New Zealand shows, bringing her homeland and her new found home together.
“I’m like a bridge between the two countries,” says Lesley, who is part of a Maori culture performance group in Broome.
Nigel Gaunt: Photographer
Nigel Gaunt of Red Dirt Photography has been the official photographer of Be Active Worn Art for the past four years. It is Nigel who captures the unforgettable colour, movement and creativity of the show with the flair of a seasoned professional.
He moved to Broome several years ago, where he continues to chase the wild light that makes the Pindan explode into colour and transforms the landscapes into an amazing palate for photography.
Nigel shares his passion with others by teaching his craft on Photographic Tours. He has exhibited his work at several venues in Broome and will be opening his own Photographic Gallery in Chinatown, Broome, at the end of October 2007. This will be an extension and journey into Nigel’s fine art awareness and will provide another insight into this remarkable and artistic photographer.
Cheryl Linaker: Be Active Worn Art regular and winner of the Illumination Illusion section at the Montana New Zealand WOW awards.
Two glowing sea anemones sway gracefully in the darkness and the audience is hypnotized. Eight hundred willow branches covered in fluorescent paint and attached to two crawling models comprise Cheryl Linaker’s ‘Flowers of the Sea.’
Cheryl entered Flowers of the Sea into Be Active Worn Art in 2006. Organizers of WOW in New Zealand saw ‘Flowers of the Sea’ by chance on a DVD, and invited her to enter it in their 2007 show. Cheryl went on to win Wow’s Illumination Illusion section: A visual kaleidoscope of glow in the dark creations which has become a WOW audience favourite.
It was Cheryl’s first year in the NZ show, and her third in Broome’s Be Active Worn Art. ‘Flowers of the Sea’ was a challenging costume to make. “The fluoro paint and the movement were very tricky and very important,” she says. Each of the eight hundred willow branches was attached to a spring to allow them to replicate the movement of a sea anemone. “We have black light at home and yes, I did have to keep checking it in the dark!”
In the past Cheryl has used materials ranging from chicken wire to old umbrella spokes that made up the wings of two flying foxes. She remembers an entry made from tyre tubes and another from liquorice. “You do hear of people going back to get their costumes only to find they’ve been eaten by something!”
Cheryl had two entries in this year’s Be Active Worn Art. One was ‘Bandilly’, a gecko costume inspired by the heat-loving amphibian residents of her backyard walls. Why a gecko? “They’re just really cute!” She says. She then took a playful turn, creating ‘Footballs and Ballet,’ consisting of a football bra and matching tutu.
Cheryl enjoys the friendly welcoming vibe of the Broome show. “I love the community feel,” she says, “nobody gets rejected, anyone can enter, and they can model their own costumes. It’s a real community builder.”
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