q&a
LUSH PLUSH
Australian textile artist Amy Claire Mills is bringing her soft but defiant sculptures to the Liverpool Biennial
Portrait of the artist Amy Claire Mills with a giant stitched plush stethoscope at This will only hurt for a second, Outer Space, Brisbane, 2023. Artwork by Amy Claire Mills.
PHOTO: LOUIS LIM
Exhibition view, This will only hurt for a second, Outer Space, Brisbane, 2023. Artwork by Amy Claire Mills.
PHOTO: LOUIS LIM
‘What are your early memories of material and thread?
I remember my grandma making me teddy bears and spending a lot of time in hospital beds with sheets that were always too stiff. My mum bought me a sheepskin rug, which I would bring to every hospital stay. I slept on the sheepskin until I was 20 and moved out of home. I have always loved soft, plush things.
What did you study?
I have a BA (Hons) in fine arts from the University of New South Wales. I loved studying fine arts because it involved a bunch of messy and chaotic artists in the studios all day. I took a lot of textile electives because the university had a great textile department, led by the brilliant weaver and academic Liz Williamson.
When did you decide textile art was going to be your career?
I don’t think I ever made a conscious choice. It was more of a hyperfixation that never stopped. My introduction to textiles came through my best friend and artist, Bailee Lobb. We met at university, where Bailee was creating the most incredible textile works, and together, we started a performance art collective called Show Us Your Teeth, making all our own costumes. That led me to take the textile electives, and I completely fell in love with the medium. After uni, I kept experimenting, playing and creating, and now I can’t imagine my practice being anything but textiles.