Profile

I am an artist-maker based in the North East of England, who uses textile processes, such as weaving and knotting, to make art objects and wall-based artworks. Growing up in Indonesia and Brazil has given me a keen awareness of the commonality and individuality of humans, and so I make work about being human: the spectrum of the human condition.

My current work challenges notions of perfection by using imperfection to create beautiful works, often using knots to symbolise this. I have been inspired by Japanese aesthetics, particularly the repair aesthetic of ‘kintsugi’ – the Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics with gold or silver lacquer and the understanding that the object is more beautiful for having been broken.
Recently I have begun to reveal the material relationships and labour which are central to my way of working through film and performance. My Masters research into how the value of craft is perceived exposed the hierarchal and binary systems often used in establishing value. To combat this, I began exploring making practices as a method for flattening such hierarchies, by coming into a reciprocal relationship with ‘lively’ materials. Working in this embodied, collaborative manner allows me to consider the agency of matter and to flatten the relationships between the human and non-human, types of knowledge, and ways of knowing.
I use weaving and knotting as a framework to hold these concepts. The numbers, counting, repetition and rhythms prevalent in weaving make it a peaceful and meditative making process. From the traditional to the unorthodox, I use a wide variety of materials including silk, wool, and linen, to paper, tree-fibres, de-commissioned firehoses, and polythene sheeting. The value and purpose of these objects is transformed by the time taken to make them, challenging the throw-away culture of consumerism.

My work is for galleries, public, and private spaces. I also make site-specific installation works and undertake commissions, write for publication, teach drawing and weaving workshops, and lecture at universities across the UK.