Jutta Feddersen's 'Escape' Returns to the Rare Trades Centre

The Rare Trades Centre has quickly became renowned as a spectacular space, offering world-class learning, state-of-the-art facilities, stunning views over East Ballarat and Mount Warrenheip, and the best morning tea sessions in the universe!

One feature of the Centre that invariably draws attention is the monumental woven piece that greets visitors as they enter the building.

Escape was created in 1976 by artist Jutta Feddersen (1931-2021) and purchased in 1978 by the then Ballarat Historical Park Association for display in the foyer of the newly constructed Gold Museum.

Resembling a colossal European cornucopia or a First Nations eel trap, Escape is a tactile study in jute, sisal, and rubber that also seems to reference the complex terrains of the region. 

The work was installed by Feddersen in 1979 and was a prominent feature of the Gold Museum for several years before being moved into the collection store.

When the Rare Trades Centre opened in 2022, Escape was returned to its place in the Gold Museum building foyer. It is recognised as a significant work, embodying the hands-on, maker-centric values that the Centre embodies. 

The piece serves as a tangible link to the founding principles of the Gold Museum and stands as a contemporary artwork reflecting the unique modernist architectural style of the building in which it now resides.

Who was Jutta Feddersen?

Simplicity, elegance, progression and repetition of forms are my trademarks. My aim is always to surprise others, and myself.

Jutta Feddersen

Jutta Feddersen (nee Schley) was born in Germany in 1931. Orphaned with her four siblings during the Second World War, Feddersen endured separation, hardship, illness, and imprisonment before the conflict's end. 

In 1953, Feddersen pursued a Diploma of Fine Art at the Handwerkskammer (Chamber of Crafts) in Bremen and was subsequently employed as a weaver.

At age 25, Feddersen traveled to Australia as part of the post-war European diaspora. She taught hand-weaving at Sturt College in Mittagong before marrying Lorenz Feddersen in 1959. With two young children, Feddersen began weaving at home, marketing a range of ties, curtains, and dresses.

By the time Feddersen began exhibiting professionally in the mid-1960s, her work had evolved from traditional flat weaving to conceptual sculptural pieces that explored the boundaries of her discipline, experimenting with both materials and scale.

In the early 1970s, Feddersen taught local Indigenous people at the Santa Teresa Mission outside of Alice Springs and later traveled through Saharan Africa to research textile practices.

Upon her return to Australia, Feddersen began producing large-scale mixed media tapestries and woven soft sculptures, leaving the loom behind and gaining recognition as an avant-garde artist. 

Influenced by fellow Germans Josef Beuys, Louise Bourgeois, Christo, and close associate Magdalena Abakanowicz, Feddersen was a key figure among the post-World War Two European migrant artists who invigorated contemporary art in Australia — especially the perceived nexus between "craft" and contemporary art practice.

Feddersen was a respected educator and author (Soft Sculpture and Beyond: An International Perspective, 1993). She exhibited at Sydney’s Bonython Galleries, Roslyn Oxley Gallery, and participated in the inaugural show at Realities Gallery in Melbourne. 

Her work is included in the collections of the National Gallery of Victoria, Sydney Opera House, Queensland Art Gallery, and Westmead Hospital.