Jo Vandepeer
Dr Jodie Vandepeer has been awarded four qualifications from the University in the past three decades. Her recent work has seen her travel to the UK, obtain a special security pass for Windsor Castle and explore behind-the-scenes at the Victoria and Albert Museum, in pursuit of a beautiful artwork with an important untold story. She is now a Visiting Research Fellow at the University.
An experienced teacher and a classical vocalist as well as an art historian and researcher, Jo鈥檚 career has been, in her own words, 鈥渋ntrepid鈥.
鈥淚 started a music degree in classical voice [1992] without being able to read music, then a graduate diploma in education [1993] without having taught, a Masters in art history [2018] without any prior knowledge (other than years of gallery tourism), and then a history PhD [2023] without ever studying history at a tertiary level.鈥
鈥淚 keep digging until there is no stone unturned.鈥Dr Jo Vandepeer
Jo鈥檚 central motivation through each new degree is the story. 鈥淭here is always a story and that is how we connect with others. Every time I research something, I am always amazed at the places it takes me and the people I meet.鈥 In 2017, for example, she found herself sitting at artist Lola Greeno鈥檚 kitchen eating Jatz and cheese and recording an interview. More recently she shared a meal at the staff canteen with curators听at the Victoria & Albert Museum before heading off to see the incredible objects in their compactors.
She stresses the importance of bringing the story to life in an engaging but rigorous manner underpinned by thorough research. 鈥淚 keep digging until there is no stone unturned.鈥
Armed with this enthusiasm for unearthing the history behind objects, Jo began her thesis to explore how Art Needlework听was threaded through the history of women鈥檚 enfranchisement in South Australia. The years of her doctorate were not without their challenges. Amidst an ongoing global pandemic, Jo faced significant personal struggles. 鈥淚 worked as a teacher during the day听and had to juggle work with study, relationships, a business, mortgage and all the guff that comes with being older,鈥 she recalls.
鈥淒uring my candidature, I became extremely sick and had four operations, was diagnosed with diabetes鈥 and I had three deaths in my immediate family to cope with.
鈥淟ike everyone else, I spent much of my PhD candidature thinking that I was a fraud and not going to pass.鈥
Fortunately, Jo didn鈥檛 let any of it stop her. 鈥淚 just kept visualising walking onto Bonython Hall stage to receive my testamur,鈥 she recalls.
With this ultimate goal in mind, Jo completed her thesis, which was awarded a Dean鈥檚 Commendation and had no revisions 鈥 a success that makes Jo 鈥渁bsurdly proud鈥. After collecting her long-anticipated testamur from the Chancellor, she continued pursuing a story that had been central to her PhD research, travelling to the UK with grant assistance from the University鈥檚 Art History and Curatorship Network (AHCAN).
鈥淟ike everyone else, I spent much of my PhD candidature thinking that I was a fraud and not going to pass... I just kept visualising walking onto Bonython Hall stage to receive my testamur.鈥
Her research into the Adelaide School of Design鈥檚 Director, Harry Pelling Gill located a striking work of art and important piece of South Australia鈥檚 history.
The Royal Collection Trust in the UK has in its collections a significant 辫辞谤迟颈茅谤别 鈥 a very large, embroidered curtain. The particular example for which Jo travelled across the world is called 笔辞谤迟颈茅谤别 1901. It was commissioned by 鈥榃omen of South Australia鈥 in 1901 to celebrate Federation.
鈥淚t was designed by H P Gill and made by South Australian embroiderers who at the time, enjoyed a national reputation.鈥
This beautiful South Australian artwork travelled back to Australia in the 1990s, and after being seen and admired at home, it was returned to the UK. When Jo attempted to see the work following her PhD, it was nowhere to be found.
As a result of Jo鈥檚 research, 笔辞谤迟颈茅谤别 1901 has been relocated.听
Jo describes this work as 鈥渟trikingly beautiful鈥. The piece features silk embroidery on blue silk moire and depicts a young gum tree. 鈥淭here is nothing like it anywhere else,鈥 says Jo.
More than just a beautiful artifact, this work is woven with stories of innovation and social change from South Australia.
鈥H P Gill was the influential Director of the Adelaide School of Design around the time that women first gained enfranchisement in South Australia. I think it is fair to say that he was responsible for our enduring tradition of valuing the hand-made, bespoke design in this state.鈥
Being able to once more听bring forward the provenance of this special piece of South Australian art is an exceptional outcome of Jo鈥檚 ongoing determination to uncover untold stories. Jo is excited that the story of the H P Gill and the 辫辞谤迟颈茅谤别 continues in the UK. 鈥淭here is a chance that the 笔辞谤迟颈茅谤别 might be exhibited soon at Windsor Castle... I think the 鈥榃omen of South Australia鈥 who commissioned it back in 1901, not least the designer and needleworkers, would all be chuffed if it was hung on the wall at Windsor over a century later.鈥
You can hear more from Jo about the fascinating lost-and-found history and cultural significance of the 辫辞谤迟颈茅谤别听as part of South Australia鈥檚 History Festival 2024.听She will reveal how this important work became lost, where it spent the intervening years, and how it was tracked down through the combined efforts of Jo and Kathryn Jones, Curator of Decorative Art, Royal Collection Trust.听
Adelaide School of Design's Porti猫re A talk by Dr Jo Vandepeer
Thursday 9 May 2024 | 6:00pm
The David Roche Foundation 鈥 241 Melbourne St, North Adelaide
Booking Link:听
