Liz Perry

Liz Perry is a weaver and artist living in Canberra. Her interest in textiles, and subsequently in art, began in my childhood and she later expanded her textile skills by learning to weave. The artistic possibilities of weaving attracted and excited, leading to formal art studies in the Netherlands and Australia.

Liz gained a Bachelor of Arts in textiles in 1986 from the Canberra School of Art followed by graduate studies in both museums and business. She maintained a studio, taught and exhibited until the early 2000s. After a period of employment in arts administration and museums Liz re-established her studio at my home and is enjoying once again working as a full-time artist, hand weaver and occasional weaving instructor.

Liz's primary focus with textiles is exploring textile structures, either by hand weaving or other means of construction. Her woven designs are finalised using weaving software that also controls her floor 16 and 24 shaft floor looms. Colour is an important component of her work and she uses both synthetic and botanical dyes as well as utilising commercially dyed yarn.

"Often the weave design process can take longer than the weaving, leading me to more direct methods of expression such as stitching, printmaking and making artist books," she says.

"Much of my work looks at the human impact upon our landscape, referencing architecture, topography, lived experience and memory. A residency in Greece in 2022 allowed me time to work with dyes and prints while researching the history of the area."

Liz exhibits regularly with the artists' group Networks Australia and has contributed to exhibitions such as Pushing the Limits (courtesy O Masson, France), various Networks exhibitions such as Trees: the Wood Wide Web and Site Specific: Rusten House. She had two early career solo exhibitions (1992 and 1998), with a small-scale solo exhibition Biblia taking place in October 2023.