From things flow what we call time
1 February 2025 - 30 March 2025
Curator:
Artist(s): John Brooks
Location: The Atrium
John Brooks’ textile practice explores the entanglements between ancient weaving technologies, material experimentation, and tangential processes of invention. His work reflects on weaving as a generative process that spans a range of disciplines. The ephemeral nature of fibres leaves gaps in textile history, allowing room for speculation and alternative paths to link the future to the past.
This exhibition traces the history of textiles, from the earliest evidence of woven structures recorded as clay imprints, to diagrams of weaving equipment inscribed on earthenware. While clay weights were used as a tool to hold threads under tension, some of the earliest ceramic pots may have originated as woven baskets reinforced with clay to carry water.
In 1804, the jacquard loom was invented. Operated with binary punch cards, this allowed for more complexity in pattern and structure. This loom, often credited as an ancestor to modern computing, set the stage for innovations that connect directly to today’s digital world, from computers to the smartphones we carry in our pockets.
The linguistic connection between "text" and "textile"—both derived from the Latin textere, meaning "to weave"—becomes a framework for the artist to explore the creation of structure and pattern through manipulation of materials to convey meaning, rather than inscribing one on top of the other. This ethos reflects a longing to connect with the "natural" world, not as a separate backdrop to human invention and control, but as an integral part of our existence. John’s work critiques how industrialisation separated thinking from making, and suggests that today, with AI automating thought itself, this separation reaches a new dimension. Through this exhibition, the artist reclaims making as an active, critical conversation—one that bridges ancient materials and modern technology.
The title of this exhibition comes from the essay From Things Flow What We Call Time by Timothy Morton.
The artist would like to thank Rachel Halton, Lucy Adam, Rohani Osman, Sam Seary, Amanda Farncomb and Jasmine Corbett.
John Brooks is a Naarm-based artist of Irish and English descent. With a foundation in weaving, he trained extensively in materials and complex textile structures before expanding his practice to encompass sculpture, video, and installation. Recently, he has begun exploring ceramics, delving into the intertwined and interdependent histories of pottery and weaving.
Working primarily with soft materials, John integrates drawing, sound, and video to investigate the interconnected relationships between humans and non-human entities. His materials-led practice incorporates symbolism, slow craft, and digital processes to reflect on the influence of objects and materials on human experiences and the anthropomorphic qualities often projected onto objects.
Friday, 31 January, 6-8pm
The opening night, with speeches and a Welcome to Country, will be held at Incinerator Gallery alongside exhibitions CHTHONIC CHORUS, A Gift of Cherry Guava's and Hibiscus Flowers, and Mother's Little Helpers.
Weaving Workshop
Saturday, 22 March, from 2pm
Duration: 90 minutes
Location: Incinerator Gallery
Tickets essential — $30
Join artist John Brooks for a Weaving Workshop that responds to the textiles and themes of his exhibition From things flow what we call time. Participants will use their phones as a makeshift loom to create tiny pieces of woven fabric returning the phone back to its original function as a process of weaving.