Description

Diver, 1982, (wool warp and weft; 80x50cm) is a tapestry work inspired by the Bronski Beat song ‘Small town boy’ and David Hockney’s California paintings that feature a watcher poolside and someone swimming underwater. This work was originally acquired by the Sydney Textile Museum as part of their acquisitive 1983 Annual Award. Following the closure of the Museum, the work was returned to Veenstra, who donated it to the Archives in 2022. This is one of four works by Venstra in the Archives’ collections.

Anton Veentra is a gay liberation activist and textile artist, who has been creating tapestry works since 1975. His works have been exhibited extensively in Australia and internationally. Veenstra has written extensively about his textile work on his blog between 2010 and 2021 (see: https://antonveenstratextiles.wordpress.com/).