Trudi Pollard’s Captured by Colour is a vibrant celebration of the natural world and a lifelong commitment to colour, material, and memory. Developed over decades and deeply rooted in Western Australia’s unique landscape, this exhibition brings together textiles, ceramics, and organic forms coloured entirely with natural dyes—many harvested from Trudi’s own bushland studio in Bedfordale, overlooking Wungong Dam.
From eucalyptus leaves to indigo, Pollard’s palette is a living archive of environmental knowledge and global dyeing traditions, informed by study and travel across Australia, Japan, Cambodia, Indonesia, and France. At the heart of her practice is a profound connection to place and process, cultivated through decades of experimentation and teaching.
The exhibition is also shaped by formative early experiences: as a child in Indonesia during WWII, Trudi’s first memory of natural dye emerged from necessity and survival. This moment—the staining of cloth in a Japanese internment camp—marked the beginning of a creative journey that continues to this day.
Captured by Colour is both a culmination and a legacy: a visual expression of a life lived through colour, and a gift of enduring knowledge passed on through Trudi’s forthcoming book of the same name.
