CAROLINE TULLY

Resident October 2024

Caroline Tully is an Australian tapestry weaver, printmaker, collage artist, archaeologist, writer, curator and tarot reader. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art from Monash University and a PhD in Aegean Archaeology from the University of Melbourne. Caroline has worked as a weaver on collaborative projects at the Australian Tapestry Workshop for 16 years (1996–2010 and 2022–2024), while her personal artistic practice is focussed on the permeability and transcorporeality of the female body. As an archaeologist, Caroline specialises in Bronze Age Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean art and religion. Her PhD examined depictions of tree worship on Minoan gold signet rings. Caroline is an expert on tree worship in the Bronze Age Aegean, Levant, Egypt and Cyprus, and has strong interests in the Environmental Humanities, nature, landscape, animism, ecology, ecofeminism, the Anthropocene, and posthumanism. She is also interested in archaeological textiles, particularly the garments of Minoan Crete, as well as the reception of ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art and architecture within Neoclassical and Egyptian Revival styles, particularly funerary monuments. Caroline has curated exhibitions of Mediterranean antiquities, and most recently worked on a forthcoming exhibition (May 2025) focussing on the spiritual dimensions accessed by contemporary artists, writers, and dancers during their creative processes. In addition, Caroline studies contemporary Paganism. She is the associate editor of Pomegranate: International Journal of Pagan Studies, works as a tarot reader, and regularly presents workshops on ancient religion and magic at the metaphysical store, Muses of Mystery.

Caroline Tully, came to Galatina driven by her deep interest in ecstatic possession, female bodies, religion, as well as environmental sciences and the ecofeminist relationship between female bodies and trees, which she has extensively studied in the ancient Mediterranean world. Her research focuses on ecstatic experiences within religious and regional natural landscapes, as well as the current environmental crisis, both locally and globally.

During her residency, Tully has been working on collages that interact with Estelle Chaigne's spirit photography. She has also been weaving these collages into textile works, exploring the intersection of ritual, body, and nature. Tully will present these creations during the studio visit, offering a unique perspective on her evolving research.