When Netherlands-based designer and innovator Christien Meindertsma got wind of hundreds of kilograms of wool destined for the waste pile, she did everything to rescue and repurpose that hard-shed bounty from a flock of more than 2000 sheep based in Rotterdam.
The outcome is this year’s MECCA x NGV Women in Design Commission – a three-metre tall newborn lamb sculpture – which will open on 3 October at NGV International. Titled First there was a mountain (2024), the sculpture is intended to draw attention to the growing issue of waste in the global wool market. It is expected to have a strong connection with Australian audiences, both for its environmental message and as a nation that is a big wool producer. Victoria is, indeed, home to the National Wool Museum.
