Winding Sheet
Unwrapping the Self with Lucas Grogan
Cloth is universally significant in every ritual that is part of the human experience, from the first swaddling of a newborn to the last garments worn in death, it is an expression and exploration of self, made physical and tactile.
The Shroud is an evocative textile piece created by artist Lucas Grogan. Born the fifth of seven children in a Catholic family and raised in the Newcastle area, Grogan attended the University of Newcastle, dropping out before completing his fine arts degree. Self-described as having a ‘tendency for attention seeking’, Grogan weaves the stories of his life and experiences into large scale, highly graphic works filled with detailed complexity, monochromatic colour schemes and homoerotic imagery.
Created over a 12 month period when travelling Europe in 2015, Grogan used self-taught embroidery techniques, including crewel embroidery and running stitch, to work onto pieces of fabric other fibre-based materials including venetian lace and chux cloth, picked up on his travels.
A shroud like a burial garment, is used to veil, obscure or cover. Grogan flipped this concept and utilised the shroud as a travel diary, visually documenting cultures and countries experienced, along with his own self growth, onto the cloth.
Grogan is a full-time studio artist working from Melbourne, Australia.
