This is a small piece inspired by a particular aspect of arctic whaling that has interested me for a while now. British Arctic Whalers had various superstitions and traditions and the ones that interest me at the moment are those that relate to their material culture – special things that they made. In December I was privileged to be able …
So, I’ve completed the four pre-exhibition residency stints in the Stables at Burton Constable Hall as part of my Artist in Residence (AIR) funded by the Arts Council and the Friends of Burton Constable Hall. It seemed like a good time to reflect on how my first official (and funded) residency has gone. It’s been awesome! I’ve shared my passion …
Moby Dick is at the core of my work, and I know that it always will be. Sometimes it feels very close to the surface, and sometimes it is buried deep, but always there. At the moment it is pretty much on at the surface. My residency at Burton Constable Hall (home to a skeleton mentioned in Moby Dick) is …
I’m just back from my first stint at Burton Constable Hall as Artist in Residence. I have spent a wonderful four days in the barn with their iconic sperm whale skeleton mentioned in Moby Dick. As well as working on drawings of the skeleton and other items in the collection that have caught my eye I very much enjoyed talking …
Inspired by my recent trip the Gulf of St Lawrence where I was fortunate to see some of the small population of beluga whales that live near the mouth of the Saguenay Fjord. A couple of days later I visited the Redpath Museum at McGill University in Montreal to see their beluga and minke whale skeletons (and lots of other great …
I’ve used some related imagery I’ve been working on for a while to loosely illustrate this traditional song about a whaling voyage in book form. I used a combination of digital printing on fabric and fabric paint for the lyric pages. The images were made using transfer dyes, layering burnt sheer fabrics and freehand machine embroidery. The pages run in a …
Transfer dye on grey textile. 2015. Orca skeleton based on one at Bergen Natural History Museum
Quilted gold satin freehand machine embroidered Right Whale with skeleton, 2015
Digitally printed textile and freehand machine embroidery. 2014 Life sized. Skull is based on the one at Hull Maritime Museum and the chart is Bjornoya (Bear Island) off the north coast of Norway.
The whaling collection at Hull is mentioned in Moby Dick and is, therefore, a very special place. The whaling gallery at Hull Maritime Museum is one of my most inspiring places and I visit it as often as I can. The skeleton of a right whale and models and paintings of ships have all influenced my work. In addition to …