From October 14 - 28 a new solo exhibition will be at Avid Gallery in Wellington New Zealand. Although birds have long been a motif in my work, they have become much more central in my thinking and an important constituent to my stitching. In my travels through the ‘garden’ of New Zealand, my response has been birds and their environments. The work focuses on threatened birds, encountered both in nature and in museums in New Zealand. This investigation combines my background in museum studies with my concerns of the environment. Fragility of both the environment and the human condition is reflected in stitch as a metaphor for mending the environment.

The hand stitched works go beyond a literal translation of imagery of birds into textiles. While these are very small works, I have been thinking of very large historic embroideries, such as the Bayeux Tapestry which shows the marks of stitchers, restorers and menders, all of which stand for me, illustrate the repair, care and protection that is required for the environment. The hand stitched works take time, and time is of the essence in the current climate.

In the machine embroidered works I use a water-soluble fabric to stitch on. This is washed away and left with a lace-like, delicate material, again reflecting the fragility of the environment that the birds live in. This thread of work was included in the recent substantial international publication “Stitch Journeys with Birds” (Martha Sielman 2023).

Placing the works withing hand-made boxes reflect the museum environment. Seeing collection cases upon collection cases at the Tring Museum, which houses the British Museum’s ornithology collection, astounded me. Many birds that were now extinct in their endemic environments. For some birds the only place to see them is in a museum.

More works can be seen on the Avid Gallery website with details for purchase at https://www.avidgallery.com/exhibitions