Precious Commodities

Photography often plays a key role in the articulation of my ideas, recording the luminescent potential of my made objects. I seem to have a habit of holding things up to the light looking for moments of translucence.
Anything can make its way into one of my pieces; discarded bottle tops, half-melted colanders, toy soldiers, chip forks- anything has the potential to become jewel-like.

Embroidery Degree Show 2008

In June I graduated from The Manchester School of Art with BA Hons Embroidery. This is me in front of one the pieces I exhibited. My work is primarily concerned with colour and its intense and volatile energy. I am a magpie, seeking out slithers of colour and shine. I use post-consumer waste such as plastic bottles and discarded plastic flotsam to create jewel-like objects from what may be seen as 'rubbish'. The transforming properties of light also inform the work, rendering plastic detritus gem-like.

Though my materials are far removed from cloth and textiles, the techniques I employ are rooted in traditional Indian folk embroidery. Having learnt aari work and mirror work in India, I have adapted these stitches usually reserved for fine fabrics into decorative sculptural joining methods.

I aim to highlight the uneasy tension between preciousness and excess.