FABRIC PANELS: YOU PAY FOR MY MEMORIES
These fabric panels and installations are part of an ongoing series of work from 2021 addressing domestic crafts and labour in both concept and process. The arduous practices of hand stitching, darning, and polishing bronze denote the work and passage of time invested into the making of each element.
Over a large portion of my life I have kept an indiscriminate collection of textile off-cuts and repurposed material; squirreling away old socks, moth-eaten knits, holey underwear and worn out tea towels. When faced with a torn pillowcase, its fibres separating and fraying beyond use, I am unable to discard it. Despite its faults, the remaining material still has value and calls to be repurposed.
This collection of fabric was formed out of a sense of guilt and the repetitive affirmation that ‘I can definitely re-use this later’. My habit of storing scrap material has gradually developed from a self-imposed obligation to a key element of my art practice, characterised by the process of collecting and the significant histories of the fabrics themselves.
My works are primarily installation, sculpture and textile-based. My practice is rooted in a materially-driven, iterative process. Creating works in series and making intuitively, allowing material agency and context to determine the conceptual qualities that emerge. My work explores femininity, social rituals, identity and domesticity through traditionally feminine hand crafts.
instagram: @longradish
