Journeying Into Form: The Mountain Goat Wool Project

Following the groundbreaking exhibition Time Warp: Contemporary Textiles of the Northwest Coast mounted by the Bill Reid Gallery in 2010-11, we are pleased to introduce Kwakwaka'wakw-Haida textile artist Meghann O'Brien and her first solo international exhibition: Journeying Into Form: The Mountain Goat Wool Project. Curated by the artist under the guidance of Martine Reid, Bill Reid Gallery's Director of Content and Research, Journeying Into Form documents the transformation of raw, unshorn mountain goat pelts with guard hairs into pure white cloud-like balls of drafted wool, which are then thigh-spun into weft yarn. This was a journey that has transformed Meghann and her work. She discovered the world of the mountain goat and the qualities of the animal and its wool, in her words "the essence of what the robes are made of". The exhibition will tour to France, where Meghann will participate in the International Festival of Extraordinary Textiles (FITE) in Clermont-Ferrand (Sept 12-16, 2012).

Special thanks 

Meghann O'Brien wishes to thank the Bill Reid Gallery, Canada Council for the Arts, Mr. and Mrs. Gary Follman, Scriba International Art Society, and several anonymous donors for their support of this travelling exhibition.

Exhibition Dates

June 13, 2012 to September 2, 2012