Exploration of Line

Sophie Honess | Sybil Orr | Tania Hartigan

 

In this exhibition, three fibre artists, Sophie Honess, Sybil Orr and Tania Hartigan, independently explore the concept of the 'Exploration of Line' using a wide variety of materials, techniques and formats, including two-dimensional and three-dimensional sculptural presentations.

'Line', in a physical sense, is widely interpreted and presented; straight, fractured, diverging, converging thus resulting in a visual and perceptive meeting point in this exhibition.

 

Artist Statements

Sophie Honess

Sophie’s ‘Exploration of Line’ is a body of work that investigates the examines colour through line. Using techniques such as latch hook, tufting, weaving, and her first ventures into sculpture, she explores how colour can be guided, contained, and connected through instinctive expression.

Each colour is placed with intention, designed to sit closely- almost to “hug” one another. Through this process, Sophie examines how lines and shapes create moments of tension, harmony, and movement between colours.

At its core, this work is an expression of self. It is not driven by a need to communicate something overly complex or symbolic, but rather by a process of play, instinct, and exploration. The colours, materials, and forms reflect a personal language - one that is intuitive, honest.

 

Sophie Honess is a Gomeroi Yinarr living and practising in Tamworth, NSW. She has been creating textile art professionally since 2018 and has been in a number of group and solo shows. Sophie creates works that respond to her immediate environment, finding and exploring the hidden beauty of Gomeroi Country through colour and texture. 

 

Sybil Orr

Exploration of Line brings together a series of textile works that trace connections between landscape, memory and myth. Through hand and machine stitching, the artist uses line as both mark and meaning - mapping mountains, migrations and imagined cosmologies. Recycled and dyed fabrics carry histories of use, while symbols and repeated forms evoke cycles of time, place and transformation, inviting quiet reflection on the intersections between the physical and the metaphysical.

 

Sybil Orr is a Tamworth-based textile artist. She uses stitch with recycled and manipulated textiles to create works that reflect her ongoing interest in cultural, historical and ecological issues. Threads and cloth are often hand dyed in an eco-sympathetic sustainable practice.

 

Tania Hartigan

Tania Hartigan is a Gamilaraay artist based in Wallabadah, where she operates ‘The Artshack’ on her rural property. Raised in Woolbrook with strong family connections to Barraba, Quirindi and Gunnedah, her practice is deeply informed by kinship, cultural knowledge and connection to Country. From a young age, she has documented her family lineage, reflecting an enduring commitment to community and continuity. Working across painting, pastel portraiture, printmaking and weaving, Hartigan draws inspiration from the land’s textures and histories. Her work expresses a profound attentiveness to place, shaped by close observation and a respect for the enduring presence of her ancestors.

 

Works for sale

 

Sophie Honess

 

One Large
2026
Wool, acrylic fibres and cloth
130 x 90cm
$2140

 

Large Three II
2026
Wool and latch hook canvas
115x150cm
$7250

 

 

Large Three III

2026

Wool and latch hook canvas

115x150cm

$7250

 

Medium Four, I

2026

Wool, acrylic fibers and cloth

51x71cm

$1150

 

 

 

Medium Four, II

2026

Wool, acrylic fibers and cloth

51x71cm

$1150

 (SOLD)

 

 

 

Medium Four, III

2025

Wool, acrylic fibers and cloth

51x71cm

$1150

 (SOLD)

 

 

 

Medium Four, IIII

2026

Wool, acrylic fibers and cloth

51x71cm

 (SOLD)

 

If you are interested in acquiring these works - please contact the gallery on 6767 5247 or email gallery@tamworth.nsw.gov.au

 

Tamworth Regional Gallery is open Tuesday 10am-5pm. Weekends 10-4pm. Other times by appointment.

The Tamworth Regional Gallery offers free and accessible parking - located behind the building, accessed via Peel or Hill St. 

 

If you have any question about the Exploration of Line exhibition, public programs, please contact the friendly Gallery Staff.