My current work in tapestry weaving is moving away from the use of barbed wire and the themes I discuss below. Currently I am exploring the possibilities of combining sound and weave and themes of interconnection and communication. My most recent work can be seen on my Sound and Weave page.
My work with tapestry weaving and barbed wire, and in particular, “Now and Then” and “Conflicting Arguments” combine themes of conflict, identity and memory. These pieces represent a stage reached in my exploration of conflict and communication where I started broadening my approach to include internal discord as well as external or political disagreement.
The woven patterns in both the above tapestries have been developed from patterns of DNA. These represent a personal or individual aspect to the issues of conflict which prompted my original work on this theme - the peace talks in Northern Ireland, where I grew up. The commemoration parades in Dublin this year (2016), as the centenary year of the Easter Rising, represent a major event in the history of this conflict, but only hint towards the depth to which our histories are embedded within us, just as with our DNA.
The three dimensional aspect of the tapestries is both necessary and intended. The barbed wire symbolises, for me, both conflict and resolution (such as it is). In “Now and Then” it is “tied into” the DNA of the woven background while in “Conflicting Arguments”, it “takes flight” and the “dialogue” opens up, providing possibility. The tapestry "Dialogue" is an illustration of both the precariousness and the possibilities of dialogue between two sides.
Click the thumbnails to view the gallery. Some pieces are available for sale and commissions are welcome. Enquiries welcome.
Some of these tapestries can also be bought quickly and easily through Etsy.