Jem Olsen

Jem is a Ballarat based textile artist and activist with a particular interest in experimental print, collage and embroidery techniques using found objects and upcycled materials. Her work seeks to encourage critical reflection and discussion of current political, social and environmental issues. With a background in psychology and education, she also has a strong interest in the therapeutic outcomes to be gained from engaging in regular arts practice.

I bought these sponges at Bunnings last weekend on the fly to help gear me up for a week of spring cleaning. And yet before I’ve had a chance to use, they’ve become El’s favourite high chair distraction.
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Since having El, I’v

After a crazy last few months prepping for a big work event, spending some time in the first light of morning enjoying the first artistic work on display by Miss Elena 💛❤️💙💜

12 months & 2 weeks since her arrival on earth & there are still

Big thanks to all who visited the @13moonscollective “Honour a Woman” exhibition at Art Space, Ballarat, over the last month. Such a lovely variety of mediums & techniques on show in such a beautiful space.
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Will never forget finishi

Big thanks to all who made it to yesterday’s opening of “Honour a Woman”, especially to @diana_coverdale_collage, @meganjriedl & @dr.en.vee for such a powerful introduction & celebration of our show.
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Unfortunately I got w

Me hanging out with my piece “In Solidarity” in Camp Street, Ballarat, back in November 2020. I remember feeling overjoyed at having just completed the photo shoot of this piece with the help of some fab fellow creatives. Little did I kno

Getting show ready again, but this time it’s pretty darn special for it feels like this piece is returning to the place where it all began 172 years ago!💥
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My “In Solidarity” piece will be on show over the last two weekends in May

After a few months of percolating ideas, I’m about to start another embroidered piece for an exhibition with @13moonscollective in June.
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The exhibition will feature works by 13 local female identifying artists, in honour of women. Planning to

Very excited to share that I’ll be hosting a panel session as part of this year’s Craft Lab 22 festivities for @creativecityballarat together with textile artist @kathylandvogt, fellow @tenfoldtextilecollective cofounder @analog_cloth &am

***Three million a minute* *(2024)***

*16.5cm W x 17.5cm H*

*Discarded disposable covid mask, covid test instruction leaflet and disposable garment waste, cotton thread*

Where once the disposable face mask was an item considered only necessary for use within healthcare settings, they have become a commonplace feature of everyday life since the first Covid-19 outbreak in 2020. It is estimated that at the height of the covid pandemic, three million disposable face masks were used every minute (Science Daily, 10 March 2021). Referencing the make-do approach of traditional patchwork quilting, “Three million a minute” is created from a discarded face mask and other covid-related medical waste items collected over the last few years; items that once helped provide physical security against infection as well as acting as a visible symbol of this. Whilst manufactured as disposable medical waste, this work deliberately repurposes these materials in a way reminiscent of how scrap fabrics were revered and reused in previous generations. From afar, the viewer might at first consider this piece to be a traditional hand-stitched quilt panel, only on closer inspection to find that the artist has machine-sewn reclaimed medical waste materials in a traditional-style quilt pattern. In doing so, the artist invites the viewer to reflect on their experience of the covid pandemic and its continued effect on our health, our communities, our environment and society at large.

Awards & Prizes

2023 Golden Textures Contemporary Quilt Award, Finalist
2022 International Art Textile Biennale, Finalist
2018 Buda Contemporary Textile Award, First Prize

Exhibitions

2024 Distortion: The evolution of body enhancement, Textile Palette Group Exhibition
2023 Waste Not, Want Not, Geelong Arts Space, Group Exhibition
2023 Golden Textures, Central Goldfields Art Gallery, Maryborough, Group Exhibition
2023 Time for Stitch, Textile Palette, Clunes, Group Exhibition
2023 UNESCO City of Craft & Folk Art Display, Ballarat Town Hall, Group Exhibition
2023 Small Works Art Prize, Brunswick Street Gallery
2022 Stitching Change, Assembly Point, Naarm Textile Collective
2022 Honour a Woman, Art Space Ballarat, 13 Moons Collective
2022 Craft Lab 22, The Mining Exchange, Creative City Ballarat Exhibition
2022 Stitching Change, FortyFiveDownstairs Gallery, Naarm Textile Collective
2021 Material Things, Blackcat Gallery, Tenfold Textile Collective Exhibition
2020 Marking Time, Geelong Art Space, Group Exhibition
2020 Art of Making, Creative Ballarat, Group Exhibition (Online Adaptation)
2020 Doing It Differently, Geelong Art Space, Group Exhibition
2019 Fibre, Brunswick Street Gallery, Group Exhibition
2019 Make or Break, Brunswick Street Gallery, (Craft Cubed Festival)
2019 Forage, Neon Parlour, Tenfold Textile Collective Exhibition
2019 Efflorescence, The Artist’s Guild, Docklands, Group Exhibition
2018 Broken Hill to Ballarat, Broken Hill CWA Fundraiser, Brunswick, Solo Exhibition
2018 TRAIN/ENNIAL, C3 Gallery Annual Fundraiser, Abbotsford, Group Exhibition
2018 Buda Contemporary Textile Award, Castlemaine, Group Exhibition
2018 Extracted, Festival of Natural Dyes, RMIT University (Brunswick) Exhibition
2018 Second Skin, Backspace Gallery, Ballarat, Tenfold Textile Collective Exhibition
2017 Seasonal Stories, Stitched-Up Textiles Festival, Wangaratta, Group Exhibition
2016 Background Noise, RMIT First Site Gallery, Tenfold Textile Collective Exhibition

Education

2016 Certificate IV in Textile Design and Development, RMIT University
2002 Graduate Diploma of Education P-12, La Trobe University
2000 Graduate Diploma of Applied Psychology, Swinburne University
1998 Bachelor of Behavioural Science, La Trobe University

Workshops & Speaking Engagements

2023 Embroidery stitch workshop (inspired by In the Company of Morris exhibition),
Ballarat Art Gallery
2023 International Art Textile Biennale, Artist Talk, FibreArts Australia, Bairnsdale
2022 Honouring story, identity and connection through textiles, Discussion Panel
Chair, Craft Lab 22, Creative City Ballarat
2021 Message Up Your Apron, (with Kait James & Sharon McDonough) Ballarat Art
Gallery & Ballarat Apron Festival (Cancelled due to Covid)

Story by Explore & Create Co #20 February 13, 2018