During my residency at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, I will work on a new series that uses found needlepoint canvases grafted together to create larger, seamless composite images. Each canvas was found second-hand in various states of finish. Some were complete, others partially finished and in need of completion, and many were just the printed canvas. This way of working allows me to imagine a new, larger life for items that have fallen out of fashion and been discarded. Reusing and recycling most of the material (including the embroidery wool) also feels environmentally responsible.
This is a collaborative project with unknown collaborators. I deconstruct and reconstruct popular images that were chosen and worked in varying degrees by other people. My goal with this work has been to connect the different styles and eras of work, creating visual elements that bridge images and fill gaps and holes. I work on the spaces in between and make those my focus, allowing the mass-produced popular images and handwork of others to coexist in one composition. I am adding new elements placed purposely to disrupt the found images. In some cases, the images are also spilling out of the printed pattern, beyond the picture plane with added elements that are reminiscent of marginalia from illuminated manuscripts.
As a maker, using the results of the labour and skills of others on commercially printed patterns is at odds with my need to develop original artworks and make everything myself. This approach to needlework as a collaborator with mostly anonymous makers is a big departure, one that is leading my practice in exciting new directions.
Studio hours:
Tuesday to Friday
11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Sarah will not be in the studio on May 13.
