Openwork

An ongoing series of machine embroidered, hand-cut linen artworks (2024-)

The Openwork textile artworks start from line drawings of natural and biomimetic motifs that are layered as machine embroideries on printed linen before the negative space is hand-cut to reveal the interlocking forms. What emerges is at times an almost abstract pattern of amorphous forms, and at others a kind of ecological topography, providing glimpses of the way species are braided together into ecosystems.

At the core of these works is an understanding of the planet - the biosphere - as a network of relationships rather than a collection of separate species or entities. The entangled forms suggest systems in which no element exists apart: roots, fungi, orchids, and other natural motifs morph into one another and organisms, environments, and human presence are bound together through processes of exchange and dependency. In this sense, the act of cutting into the fabric becomes more than a formal gesture; it opens up a space for thinking about connection, permeability and the intricate ecologies in which we are inextricably embedded. The works invite us to consider interconnectedness not as an abstract idea, but as something material, embodied and continually made through relationships.