.jpg)
While studying for a Masters degree in Fine Art at the University of Reading, my practice focused on combining knitting with soft sculpture, and other materials.
This section records my studio practice, exhibitions, artistic inspiration, plus my research into materials and neolithic sites.
MA Fine Art
My artwork sabotages the comforting persona of knitting and its association with babies and nice old ladies, by sculpting it into monstrous alien forms derived from fungal networks, internal organs and parasitic creatures. The anthropomorphic creations consist of womb‑like vessels and intestinal structures, influenced by science fiction films exploring animation and metamorphosis.
“Mycelium is a body, without a body plan”.
Merlin Sheldrake, Entangled Life, p55.
Inspired by the collective unconscious as the mother and trickster archetypes, the pieces explore rebirth, either as a physical parasitic invasion or removal of the persona. Destabilising the interconnectedness of knitting, cuteness and nurture, the pieces are positioned within the weird, grotesque and incongruous. The work aims to evoke the sensation of touch through the viewer’s tactile imagination, while also provoking the disgust mechanism, a learned reaction of repulsion to something harmful, contaminating or socially taboo.
Pupate consists of a collection of long tendrils erupting from a soft central body, stuffed with coarse sisal fibres. The piece is informed by the film The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and the dramatic personality change of a close family member during a terminal illness, to explore metempsychosis rebirth - where souls pass into other bodies. Moved by Louise Bourgeois’s use of sentimental textiles, the sculpture is made from my aunt’s clothing, while the red tendrils are influenced by Cecilia Vicuna’s Quipu Womb (2017).
Hatchery is an intestinal-plant hybrid featuring a squishy latex head, protruding suction pads and collection of birthing pods painted with wax. The work is partly inspired by the film Alien (1979) and tapeworm reproductive methods, where an egg-filled segment detaches and crawls out of the bottom to find its next host. The piece references the negative mother archetype as devouring creature inhabiting hidden internal world, plus Louise Bourgeois’s ambiguous tribute to her own mother in Maman (1999).
Brood is a rampaging primordial mass of intestinal snakes, burrowing through the walls and floor, and leaving a trail knitted excrement in their wake. The sculpture is informed by the films Tremors (1990) and Svankmajer’s Alice (1988), together with Dorothea Tanning’s Hôtel du Pavot Chambre 202 and her attention to detail in Tweedy (1946), a soft sculpture dog with faeces. Influenced by the duplicity of the trickster archetype, the cute, saccharine sculptures through their naivety, disrupt societal ideas of cleanliness, by blurring the boundary between the inner and outer body.
Microcosm is a collection of tubes and biomorphic vessels, mixing cuddly textures with visceral discharges. Inspired by the fungal root networks connecting all living systems, the installation interlinks the three larger pieces, with a disparate collection of materials, including natural, plastic, rubber and neon yarns, along with ceramics, wax, plaster, latex, human and animal hair. The pieces reference Eva Hesse’s minimalist latex forms, Tai Shani’s neon and holographic surfaces, Jonathan Baldock’s ceramic juxtapositions of hard and soft material, plus the multi-material-sensory approaches of Annette Messager and Tim Spooner.
Studio practice
Materials
Yarn
Acrylic
Acrylic is a man-made petroleum based material designed to mimic the properties of cotton and wool.
Clay
Clay
Yarn
Goats Hair
Goats hair was originally used to create tents, and is also mentioned in the bible goats hair as , sack cloth, "The sun became black as sackcloth of hair" (Rev. 6:12).
Goats hair is an itchy and uncomfortable textile to wear, and was used in mourning and repentance, "They would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes" (Matt. 11:21). St Thomas More is reputed to have worn the goat hair shirt enshrined in Buckfast Abbey, Devon.
Fibre
Linen
It is thought that linen has been used as a textile fibre for at least 10,000 years, and can be found in surviving textiles from Ancient Egypt. Linen is obtained from the flax plant, which grows for exactly 100 days before being harvested and soaked in pond to soft the bark to aid flax processing.
Linen is very strong, and is more absorbent and faster drying than cotton, making it comfortable to wear in hot weather. However linen will wrinkle and crease permanently, due to the cracking of the fibre.
Cord
Polyester
Polyester is a PET petroleum based thermoplastic material. It is one of the world's most popular textiles, and it is used in both consumer and industrial products. Although it is not sustainable, it can be recycled into yarn sand also into clear plastic bottles.
Yarn
Rubco
Rubco is made from 90% polyurethane and 10% polyester. The yarn weather resistant is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use, and is used in the automotive industry.
Fibre
Wool
Wool is a protein hair fibre with scales running up the length, which will permanently interlock to produce felt if subjected to heat, moisture and friction.
There are many types of sheep breeds, ranging from ancient such as Soay (1st Century AD),to more recent developments created by intensive farming (merino). Depending on the breed, hair length can range from 40mm to 150 mm - the longer the hair, the finer and softer the wool.
Clay
Air Drying
Air hardening clay does not need a kiln to cure, and can be coloured with any conventional paints. It is usually made from natural material and a polymer, such as paper fibres and glue.
Yarn
Cotton
Cotton is a cellulose material. The soft, fluffy mass of fibres growing around the seeds of the Gossypium plant, are processed to produce cotton. The plants are usually found in India, China, United States, Australia, Brazil or Uzbekistan.
Twine
Hemp
Hemp or industrial hemp forms part of the Cannabis family, and is used to create rope, textiles, clothing, shoes, food, paper, bioplastics, insulation, and biofuel.
Recycled
Nylon Tights
Nylon first appeared in the 1930’s as a synthetic alternative to silk. As a petroleum based thermoplastic material, it can be moulded into a solid form or spun into a fine fibre.
Twine
Polypropylene
Polypropylene is a plastic, but is considered one of the safest. It is approved for use in food containers and textile carpeting, as it does not emit toxic fumes when burnt.
Yarn
Rug Wool
Rug wool is thicker and coarse than the wool used for garments, as it is designed to be hardwearing. Some rug wool also includes a small percentage of nylon to make it moth resistant.
Yarn
Alpaca
Alpaca comes from a is a camelid mammal (similar to camels) found in South America. There are two types, Huacaya and Suri alpaca.
Recycled
Cotton T-shirts
Although cotton is sustainable and biodegradable - the average cotton T-shirt requires 750 litres of water, for growing, processing and dyeing. Some of these T-shirt will form part of the 300,000 tons of clothing going into landfill every year.
Twine
Jute
Jute is extracted from the bark of the white jute plant (Corchorus Capsularis), and is know as the 'Golden Fibre' due to is silky golden appearance.
The fibre has natural UV resistance. Jute is is both biodegradable and recyclable, and also grows quickly within about 4-6 months without the need for fertilizers and pesticides - making it an efficient and sustainable material.
Yarn
Paper
Paper yarn is usually made from a long fibred cellulose material to strengthen the paper. It is then cut into strips, and is either folded or twisted for additional strength.
Yarn
Reflective
Reflective yarn is manufactured with glass beads or micro prisms to reflect the light.
Yarn
Vinyl
Manufactured in the USA, Jelly Yarn® is a smooth, vinyl yarn created by artist Kathleen Greco.