Kasia Tons: Biotic Commune

The Guildhouse Collections Project

Guildhouse and the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium of South Australia are delighted to invite you to the opening of Biotic Commune by Kasia Tons.

Kasia Tons: Biotic Commune

Sunday 5 March, 2023
4 — 6pm
Santos Museum of Economic Botany
Adelaide Botanic Garden

Capacity is limited, RSVP is essential.

Please join us with the artist for the exhibition opening of Biotic Commune, at the Schomburgk Pavilion and Santos Museum of Economic Botany on Sunday 5 March at 4pm, with an opening address by contemporary artist Catherine Truman and Smoking Ceremony and Welcome to Country from Ashum Yarlupina Owen of Ngangki Warra.

Biotic Commune
11 February - 16 July 2023

Contemporary artist Kasia Tons proposes an exploration of the symbiotic relationship held between plants and humans using hand embroidery, and soft sculpture. With an aim to highlight the importance that plants have had and continue to play part in human evolution, Tons’ work references stories of past practices in myth, medicine and nutrition alongside visions of the future that emphasises environmental connection and value through individual care and responsibility.

The Guildhouse Collections Project is presented in partnership with the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium of South Australia, at the Santos Museum of Economic Botany.

Getting there:

Santos Museum of Economic Botany is centrally located in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens and is an easy stroll from any of the Gardens' major entrances.
Download the Adelaide Botanic Gardens map here.

About the artist:

Kasia Tons is a textile artist working and living on Peramangk Country. Hand embroidery and mask making are central to her practice which sits at the intersection of art, fashion, and craft. Her process is slow and intuitive, colourful, and expressive. The labour and time invested in creating her work acts as an antidote to the fast pace of the modern world and the addictive seeking of instant gratification through digital means. Recurring thematic interests include social impacts of digital technology use, the Anthropocene, and interpersonal/interspecies relationship dynamics. Kasia works as an artist mentor. She has exhibited nationally and internationally and has participated in residencies in Iceland, the USA, Latvia, and the Slovak Republic. The Rothko Art Centre, Latvia holds two of her pieces as part of their permanent collection and she was a finalist for the 2021 Ramsay Art Award. 

Image: Kasia Tons, Citrus skin balaclava, 2022, dried citrus skin, cotton, cotton canvas, beeswax, 19 x 19 x 19 cm (approx). Photograph Emmaline Zanelli.

Photography permissions:

Photographs and/or video may be taken at this event. By taking part in this event you grant the event organisers full rights to use the images resulting from the photography/video filming, and any reproductions or adaptations of the images for fundraising, publicity or other purposes to help achieve the group’s aims. This might include (but is not limited to), the right to use them in their printed and online publicity, social media, press releases and funding applications.

If you do not wish to be photographed please inform the photographer or a Guildhouse staff member.