From the outset Brett Alexander and Tallulah Cunningham appear to share few, if any, similarities in their art practices.
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He is a textile artist who uses knitting to combat homophobia and she is an illustrator with a love for Persian poetry.
But together the Hunter artists have helped dominate the ground floor of the Maitland Regional Art Gallery in its new round of exhibitions.
In his display, DomiKNITor, Alexander challenges the gendered nature of knitting while also exploring the cultural stereotypes of male and female.
But more than anything, Alexander hopes DomiKNITor will become the catalyst for discussion.
“I used knitting and textiles as some sort of craft therapy because of homophobia and bullying ... the craft process became a very important meditation for me,” Alexander said.
“And we have to be so mindful of all of that. I don’t understand where that hate comes from.
“It seems to me so unfounded.
“I made a decision in my life to live as an open gay man because when I was growing up there were no role models.
“I think a lot of gay men of my generation, the ones that survived HIV, carry a lot of baggage about self-esteem and positive self-image.
“And I think a lot of them, including me, deal with a lot of negative self chatter.
“So maybe this exhibition will start a discussion about something that then liberates a child and they won’t carry that guilt for the rest of their lives.”
Nearby are Cunningham’s two four-metre scrolls based on 11th century Persian poetry – the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam – and featuring imagery drawn from the Hunter including Maitland Town Hall and the iconic riverbank.
“Sprinkled all through our language are pieces from this poetry, the bird is on the wing, the moving finger writes, wilderness is paradise enough ... those sorts of things,” Cunningham said.
“I get goose pimples when I think about the poems because they are so lovely and punchy.”
DomiKNITor and The Moving Finger Paints ... a Hunter Valley View of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam open at the Maitland Regional Art Gallery on Saturday.