Melbourne Wearable Art Series #2 - Goldstank

Meet Goldstank, a designer and illustrator based in Melbourne. Goldstank works in traditional art mediums as well as textiles to create pieces celebrating culture, friendship and feminism.  After graduating with honors from RMIT's renowned Bachelor of Design program, Goldstank established women's streetwear brand Shio, which garnered attention from VAMFF, MSFW, Acclaim Magazine and its affiliates, growing a cult following at the outset of the global streetwear boom until its dissolution in 2016.  Since then, Goldstank has focused on expanding her digital experience; working in digital textile print and clothing production, brand identity, project development and graphic design.  Her most recent art project being an alphabetical series portraying women in the urban musical sphere, which will be adapted to a coloring book.   From Goldstank; "The piece I've created, titled Black Lion, is an exploration of identity and heritage. The black-mained lion is found in the mountains of Ethiopia and has stood as a symbol of it's sovereignty amidst a colonised Africa for centuries. The main of the lion is replicated around the collar of the jacket, with the words  "t’ik’uri ānibesa" (ጥቁር አንበሳ) or "black lion" embroidered on the collar fall. The jacket is dip dyed, and bleached at its hem, to represent the encroaching westernisation of the region, as well as the cultural duality of a POC growing up in a Western nation. Other motifs include the cheetah and angel faces, embroidered and painted with coloured dye; guardians and symbols of an ancient past. And scribbled across the jacket in black thread are lyrics to Solange's "Almeida", celebrating the indestructibility of blackness. This jacket is an homage to my heritage, both confrontational and nurturing as deemed by the viewer. "