Join us for a conversation between Gina Russell and Steven Junil Park as they delve into their shared experiences growing and working with organics linen and natural dyes – particularly the deep, complex blues of indigo.

Together, they will explore how raw fibres transform into expressive, functional, and even political textiles, and how collaboration, materiality, and storytelling are interwoven in their practices. Gina will speak to the process from the soil, and how connecting to the earth under our feet and the plants that grow from it offers a true insight into the value of the resources that we use.

This event offers a unique window into the intersection of craft and concept – where the personal becomes political, and the process becomes a narrative.

Spaces are limited for this free event, register here.

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Gina Russell sits at the intersection of farming and fashion. A graduate of the BHU Organic College, she studied natural resource cycles to understand where our fibre & dyes could come from and how they can safely return to the earth at the end of their useful life. She has been cultivating linen flax, indigo and other dye plants in a regenerative system where the “waste” from extracting fibre and colour goes back to the earth where it feeds the microbes that nurture her plants. With an ever-growing understanding of the soil she cares for, she hopes to guide a slower, more grounded way to craft, direct from the soil.

Steven Junil Park is a Korean-born multi-disciplinary artist based in Ōtautahi. He is known for his work under the name 6x4 where he produces all manner of functional objects from recycled, repurposed, or vintage materials, focusing on the medium of clothing to address questions of identity and place. His practice is heavily process based, where materials come alive while being worked to create a language for communion with the intangible. He is a strong believer in the power of craft, where the transformation of materials from one state to another can double as a powerful way to transform the inner self.

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Steven is an exhibiting artist in PUPURITIA: Storytelling and Contemporary Textiles.