Exhibition | Hi Vis / High Vision

‘The individual, unseen, solitary process of art making is made visible.’

We are 4 women working with craft processes in fibre; Penny working with needle, thread and fabric exploring the aesthetics of pattern and texture through the motifs and methods of Sashiko, Elaine manipulating and upcycling thread and textiles in symbolic motifs to explore time and natural processes, Ceri manipulating diverse fibre and found materials with hands as tools to make works that serve as a meditative foci for both artist and viewer, Lynn constructing 3 dimensional forms with crochet and recycled textile, thread and plastics.

Our works are largely non-figurative, in an aesthetic language articulating pattern, texture, colour and the embodiment of time vested in their manufacture. Tracing the lines and forms of these art works construction, the viewer can read the way in which they have been crafted, and in a sense accompany the artist in the creative process. This sense of making visible the process and decisions involved in the making of the works is a focus of the exhibition.

The title ‘Hi Vis’ refers to this and also to broader concepts: The individual, unseen, solitary process of art making is made visible. Traditional craft processes are executed as contemporary art. Functional, utilitarian materials are transformed through contemporary and traditional craft processes. Erstwhile domestic crafts with a long cultural and often gendered history, are made highly visible and highly valuable. Works are linked through the aesthetic language of colour, via the incorporation of hi vis textiles in their construction.

Hi Vis articulates an explicit language of safety and warning by its use in hazardous occupations, and an implicit authority associated with its use by enforcement services and emergency workers. These colours fluoresce miraculously. The artists make themselves highly visible and employ their distinct creative vision and practice to express these concepts.