Cosies, Cossies and Caravans

Award-winning artists Jennie Pry and Loris Quantock shared a studio at the well-known Lennox Street Studios in inner-city Sydney.

As studio mates they exchanged ideas, influenced each other’s artistic practice and discussed what they were making for dinner.

In 2019 Jennie left Sydney and moved to Austinmer. Loris didn’t, but makes good use of Jennie’s spare room and the local pools.

Cosies, Cossies and Caravans, their first exhibition together, was born out of a discussion about what each was doing art wise during the Covid-19 lockdown. Their conversations meandered over memories of what Aussies used to do back in the day to pass the time. Teapots were adorned with hand-knitted tea cosies, bathing suits were stitched and ruched and tiny colourful caravans were stabled in driveways waiting for a tow to a coastal anywhere.

The resulting exhibition is a heartwarming collection of drawings, paintings and mixed media artworks that reach back to the textiles, wallpapers and domestic icons of their mothers and grandmothers’ kitchens, wardrobes and collections.

For the past decade, Jennie’s art has focused on nostalgic narratives exploring the great Australian beach holiday culture via painted collages of vintage bathing suits, cabins and caravans.

“Bathing belles and backyard caravans are recurring themes in my art works. They are often rendered on recycled fence palings, vintage wallpapers, maps and music sheets,” Jennie says. “The power of nostalgic objects to evoke memory, historical recollection and emotional connection is a continued source of fascination for me.”

Loris has always considered herself an artist inspired by landscapes. She has spent many years travelling to remote locations. Those experiences have been the basis for each series of her landscape paintings and 3D assemblages.

Loris’s new body of work in Cosies, Cossies and Caravans is a departure from her usual practice.
“I seemed to have shifted my focus from the exterior world to the world of the interior. Perhaps an indirect response to the year we’ve had.”

Like a lot people, Loris cleaned out cupboards during lockdown. She found a stash of her mother’s old knitting books. One of the pattern books she found was of tea cosies. It was published by Madame Weigel. Knowing next to nothing about Madame Weigel, Loris delved deeper and spent many months researching Madame Weigel’s remarkable life and work, while at the same time drawing and painting cosies from the pattern book.

“I enjoyed every minute of creating this body of work. I didn’t start out with a plan; just one Madame Weigel tea cosie at a time.”

Cosies, Cossies and Caravans will be at Clifton School of Arts, February 26-28. Opening night Friday 26th, 6-8pm. Weekend 10am-5pm.

Q&A with artist Jennie Pry

Why move to Austinmer?

Austinmer offers a village lifestyle where there is ocean, rainforest and a glorious escarpment but all within easy distance for a city fix (should the need ever arise again). In my day job, I am based at Liverpool Hospital, managing Population Health projects. It’s not a bad commute, but now that working from home options are much more of a reality (for some professions), the move to Austinmer is proving to be one of the best decisions I’ve made.

I also have family ties to the area and was a frequent visitor. So when the timing was right, I started looking for somewhere to buy within budget that was big enough for me and my two sons and could also accommodate my art studio.

Favourite local haunts?

I’m a keen hiker and café creature. I like to do Sublime Point and Gibson track as a fitness thing. When I have more time, the Wodi Wodi track and Forest trail are not only beautiful, they are profoundly moving. So much history and story.

My local cafes are The General and Omni and continue to serve up cosy atmosphere, fabulous coffee and nutritious delights.

I’ve also recently joined the Austinmer branch of the RFS as one the new recruits after last year’s horrendous season. The crew of long-term volunteers there are amazing and so patient training up people like me who struggle to know one end of a pump from another!

In art, you like vintage cossies – why? And in real life?

My drawing and art-making practice has focused on nostalgic narratives that explore the great Australian beach culture through painted collages of vintage swimming costumes and bathing suits.

Bathing suits, in particular, reveal moments in time from another era. The remnants of ruched and faded fabrics reach around and embody a woman’s form and whisper forth a little of her life story for me to draw. I name each bathing suit either after the actual person who wore it, or who I imagined wore it.

In real life, I stick to good old one-piece Speedo-style cossies for lap swimming at Austi pool. I have tried out one of my vintage bathing suits in the pool and it filled up with water and became so heavy it almost fell off!