Page 12 - Luce 2014

Senior Co mmon Roo m

McMahon Memorial Tapestry:

The Maker, The Material, The Memorial

Living in JCH means the hallways, rooms and even the walls become as
familiar as those in your childhood home. When traversing the corridors
and passing all the displayed objects steeped in memories and tradition, if
something new (or in this case old) appears, you take note - especially when
it is a three metre long vividly coloured woollen tapestry hung in the Main
Staircase. A plaque below denotes it as the ‘McMahon Memorial Tapestry’.

During my time at JCH I was studying for a Masters of Cultural Materials
Conservation. This involves understanding the materials, techniques and
history of an object, its current condition and then enacting preventive
conservation measures or conservation treatments to ensure the object’s
continued survival. A timely assignment that asked us to investigate the
‘story’ of an object through both examination and research was set the
day after my return to JCH after the 2014 winter break. This was when I
noticed the appearance of the McMahon Memorial Tapestry. I photographed
and examined the object while it was hanging on the wall and then was
granted access to the JCH Records. From this I managed to piece together
a comprehensive timeline of the object, the story behind its creation and
purpose, look at the materials and techniques used to construct it and take
note of its condition. The Tapestry truly has a story.

The McMahon Memorial Tapestry was commissioned by the family of
Margaret McMahon to memorialise her life, a diverse one which included
being a war nurse, wife, mother, member of various committees in
Melbourne and being the Chair of the JCH Committee from 1931-1939. The
Tapestry was created by Polish born Australian weaver Sonya Carrington-
Zakrewska. It took over 600 hours to make and was completed in 1967.
The gap between the death of Mrs McMahon and the commissioning and
completion of the Tapestry remains a mystery – perhaps an avenue for
further research. From piecing together news articles it was likely made on
Carrington-Zakrewska’s two-shaft loom in her studio. Fine hand dyed wool
(which was dyed by Carrington-Zakrewska herself using synthetic dyes to
achieve the vivid colours) was used for the weft, and linen for the warp to
depict the wonderful images and flower motifs. The wildflowers as motifs are
an acknowledgement of Mrs McMahon’s hobby of collecting and preserving
them. Now these flowers have become symbols to preserve her memory.
The tapestry will continue to fulfil its memorial purpose hanging in the
Main Staircase at JCH, watching over the hundreds of people who traverse
the stairs in years to come.

Lucilla Ronai (2013)
Yvonne Aitken Scholar

An architect’s environmental odessy

In December 2013, our resident tutor for Environments, Mr Xavier Cadorel
was awarded an AUSMIP grant to pursue his research for 3 months in Paris.
Xavier’s research focused on building efficiency and looked at how Europe has
implemented strict regulations towards building efficiency to meet the Kyoto
targets of reducing Co2 emissions by 2050. In his report, Xavier discussed how Xavier Cadorel in Paris
French architects and engineers had been challenged in the way they design and were urged to move towards passive design,
better building envelope and more efficient services (heating, cooling, lighting etc.). As a result of these new French regulations,
residential houses built today in France will be using half of the energy of a six star rating house in Australia. By 2020 in France,
any new residential house will have a positive energy balance, meaning it will produce more energy than it will use. Continuing
his research at the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne, Xavier is hoping to demonstrate
to the Australian building industry and end users, the advantages in low carbon and positive energy architecture.

12 LUCE Number 13 2014