COLLABORATIONS

Kathy Temin has been practising as an artist since 1989, her work came into prominence within Australia and internationally in the 1990s combining oppositional dialogues. She has predominantly used monochromatic synthetic fur but has not been defined solely by this medium, other materials include public art cast into concrete and aluminium and has worked with fused glass. Temin’s work engages with cultural identity through pop culture,1970s architecture, interior decoration, suburbia and site specificity. Since 2008 she has questioned what a memorial and a monument can be while looking at cultural displacement and remembrance influenced by her family history.

I've always been influenced by fashion, materials and textures and worked with synthetic fur because of its exaggerated qualities, the reference to soft toy imagery, sentimentality and comfort and it's also a material that challenges questions of taste.

Fashion and art have been intertwined in my influences. My father was a shirt manufacturer from Eastern Europe and I have grown up watching pattern makers work in a factory setting and understand how clothing can change how you feel and be a form of self expression.

It was an easy collaboration because we all understood the simplicity of the translation of the fur into a silk print, it's something that Alpha does well and I knew the style of dress I wanted the print to be translated onto as it's one of my favourite Alpha60 dresses. Combining the fur print onto luxurious silk brings this oppositional dialogue together of synthetic fur with silk. For the tote bag, the fur was the obvious choice, the black print inside was a way to combine the real with the translation of the material and when wearing a piece of the printed clothing and carrying the fur bag.


-Kathy Temin

The green fur was initially created for the Bella commission at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney in 2015, as part of the Koala Room, designed for children with disabilities to engage with art through play. Temin sought a green that referenced idealized grass or flooring, drawing inspiration from the luxurious Prada green velvet seats in their stores. She aimed for a vibrant, animated tone to complement the room’s sky blue hues. In contrast, the black fur used in her My Monument works evokes themes of mourning, remembrance, beauty, and contemplation. Temin’s work often brings together opposing ideas, such as remembrance and play, blending the outside world with the inside. The green and black prints reflect this balance, offering a striking visual dialogue that invites viewers into a space of reflection and engagement.

We're thrilled to announce the launch of our Kathy Temin x Alpha60 collection at the Melbourne Art Fair, taking place from February 20–23, 2025. The collection will also be available at our Chapter House and Fitzroy stores, as well as online. Please note, the collaboration is limited to just 30 editions per style, so be sure to check stock availability before visiting a store.