reg-mombassa
In 2002 the Victorian Tapestry Workshop (now Australian Tapestry Workshop) commissioned Reg to produce an artwork which was woven into a 1.8 x 2.92m tapestry. The work is titled Bush Suburbs.

Title: Bush suburbs

Year: 2002

Artist: Reg Mombassa

Medium: Wool & Cotton Tapestry

Size: 1.80 x 2.92m

Weavers: Merrill Dumbrell, Gerda van Hamond, Irja West.

Collection: Powercor Australia

Location: Melbourne

Bush Suburbs is based on an amalgam of suburbs in Sydney. The scene reflects a charmed world of perfect order, each element merrily – if not comically – in its place. The stereotyped suburban bungalows are adaptations of the houses Reg remembers as a child that his father built. The design for this tapestry was selected because of the qualities it shares both with the great tapestries of the past, and the grand mural paintings of Stanley Spencer (who also drew inspiration from medieval tapestries). The flat picture plane, the firmly articulated graphic nature of the work, its decorative and narrative qualities, and its powerful representation of everyday life, have all made for a strong and moving tapestry on a mural scale.
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© 2022 Reg Mombassa