A contemporary craft exhibition exploring issues of comfort, and in particular, the diversity of ways in which comfort is sought from objects. The exhibition at du Plessi Building, Adelaide, was supported by a series of postcard sized artist cards, forming a tactile catalogue of crafted objects and writings on comfort.

Artists featured in comfort were: Melissa Beal, Jane Bowden, Hope Lovelock Deane, Glenys Hodgeman, Deb Jones, Brooke Kendall, Helen Nieuwendijk, Mark O'Ryan, Zofia Sleziak, and Penny White.

comfort was curated by jewellery designer-maker Jane Ruljancich. In her curatorial essay, Jane writes:

"As a concept, comfort can be difficult to define. It's an overused term that might seem easily definable, yet meaning will often differ vastly from person to person. The idea of comfort being a very personal or subjective thing is strongly borne out by the diversity of approaches to the theme that the works in comfort represent. There are however, two strong threads running through the exhibition and the works could be loosely divided into two. These are: works concerned with physical comfort and works that speak of comfort of the mind.

"In thinking about comfort the images that come most readily to mind are often: soft textiles, overstuffed couches, of putting your feet up and eating 'comfort foods'. In short, a focus on physical comforts. In comfort this area is explored by works looking at the comforts of the tea ritual (Melissa Beal: Green) and the comfort of carrying your own supply of chocolate (Jane Bowden: Box Ring). There is the playful approach to the sterotypical comfort object, the cushion, produced with an ironic twist in aluminium (Mark O'Ryan: Cold Comfort). Other objects in our lives become invested with personal meaning and come to provide less tangible types of comfort to us. We use photographs to invoke the comfort and reassurance of happy memories. They can remind us of where we've come from and how well we've progressed from there. Conversely, they can be viewed with suspicion and been seen as imprecise records of fleeting moments - never telling the whole story or the whole truth. In an increasingly materialistic culture, comfort is often offered to us in terms of a larger home, a more luxurious car etc. - it's an all pervading hard sell. Craving for a society where inner comfort is as valued or encouraged, the artists in comfort have touched on concerns of the spirit and inner peace with works about repose and meditation. Objects can make a clearing in our surroundings to provide focus for calm contemplation. The very act of handmaking objects, often repetitive and time consuming, can have meditative qualities."

The comfort exhibition was very appropriately sponsored by the Positive Minds Attract campaign - an initiative of Health Promotion SA, Government of South Australia. Positive Minds Attract promotes good mental health - the ability to feel positive about yourself and others. A positive mind attracts friends and helps you to enjoy more in life. It takes work, but so do all good things. To find out more visit: www.headroom.net.au