Banner - Mona Hessing

Mona Hessing (1933–2001) is a celebrated textile artist who was at the forefront of the contemporary craft movement of the 1960s and 1970s, a leading woman artist of her generation. She was known for her large-scale and experimental weavings which claimed a place for this traditionally female, craft-based practice within the male-dominated hierarchy of art. Hessing studied at the East Sydney Technical College (now National Art School), Sydney from 1951 to 1956. In 1970 She was commissioned by UNSW to create a site-specific work for the new Sir John Clancy Auditorium, the first major public art commission awarded to a woman artist by UNSW. Hessing’s 24-metre-long tapestry Banner is integrated perfectly into the buildings Brutalist style, the rich colours and dynamic texture of the woven and knotted wool providing contrast and warmth to the foyer’s austere concrete walls. Banner took almost a year to complete, with Hessing also engaging weavers in Panipat, India to hand-loom the 126 individual panels. In 1973 a major exhibition of her work together with ceramic artist Marea Gazzard was held at the National Gallery of Victoria and the same year she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship for overseas study. Hessing’s work was included in international exhibitions such as the Biennale of Contemporary Tapestry in Lausanne, Switzerland (1967, 1969), the International Design Exhibition in Stuttgart (1969), the first World Crafts Council exhibition, Toronto (1974). Banner is one of the most important examples of modern textile art in Australia, and one of the few works by Hessing still in its original location.