Arts Thread

‘Hermit’ is a tale of a young women’s silent battle with post-traumatic stress disorder that has been neglected by the medical system. The title Hermit refers to her living in solitude as religious discipline; immersed in suffering, in order to be reborn. The making has become a meditation, a nurse caring for her. The imperfections and subtleties of the dyeing process of the blue palette with the daylight shining through, convey a feeling of hope that exists within a time of melancholy. The fabric is infused with her presence. Erratic and fragmented prints of the body and lace, the texture is scarred into the material. A chair in disrepair, where the owner has frantically tried to patch up the damage. She is inviting you into her sanctuary, the diary extracts in the book aiding you to feel and experience with the young protagonist.

Dedicated to my father, Moidean. Born in Zimbabwe 1967, growing up on the farms and travelling through the bush, my father had a humble childhood. Leaving school at 15, beginning his apprenticeship on the mines, my father spent the nights of his youth in the 80s and early 90s driving in his pink Beatle, to the town hall discos (where he met my mother), dressed in his suits with these audacious ties that have travelled with him all the way to Scotland , now buried in his wardrobe. I’ve always loved his ties and the stories that come along with them. This piece pays homage to the act of story telling in our families and the little puzzle pieces that come along to understanding where we came from

The Making of God is a reflective piece that explores my internal struggles with God and Christianity. Studying the early Renaissance paintings and the great painters of colour, M. Rothko and J. M. W. Turner, and the poet, artist and theologist William Blake. I delve into how colour and texture can be used to emote certain feelings and create a religious experience for the audience, the art of telling a story with no words. Exploring techniques such as dyeing, shibori and polychromatic printing to create emotive colour and manipulating them with wax and digital print transfer to imitate the old cracked religious paintings, Bishops clothing and bio-materials to create my own crucifix. Through this project I also learn how to meditate through my practice, allowing myself to make mistakes, not overthinking or perfecting but reflecting through each moment and trusting the process. Allowing myself to feel, almost creating a religious ritual in my work. In this process I begin to wonder if this work is a conversation with the Lord himself. You’ll see imagery of harsh dark colours, fading light, the crumbling of the crucifix, and myself trying so desperately hard to hold onto whatever faith I have left at my own pain and expense. Because the painful realisation I’m coming to terms with through this project is that though I may no longer be of faith, I still carry Him with me. The Lord is forever bound and woven within me. It is the question of how do you believe in a god that you deeply despise? How do you find peace in that?