Tim Gregory
Postcard, 1946: Cook Monument and Tree Planted 9th Aug., 1881, by the Late Prince Victor of Wales | 2026 | velvet devore | 100 x 65cm
Sunshine Coast National Art Prize 2026 - Finalist
Image courtesy of artist.
Tim Gregory
NSW
Postcard, 1946: Cook Monument and Tree Planted 9th Aug.,
1881, by the Late Prince Victor of Wales
2026
Velvet devore
100 x 65cm
The work is based on a 1946 postcard of the Cook Monument at Kurnell that the artist purchased on eBay. By purchasing the postcard, the artist takes it out of the circulation of colonial trinkets. The postcard image is painted onto velvet using the devore process. This is a technique where acid burns away the pile of the velvet leaving the back netting support. The image becomes a one-bit image, white on white. The monument is etched into the fabric, becoming a negative space. The land and monument are erased and ghosted across the fabric. Velvet devore is commonly seen in intricately patterned Victorian dresses, curtains and pillows. The artwork directly connects the excesses of the luxury colonial textile trade with the processes of occupation and erasure.