Toast Re-new
Image: Detail from Sophie Riley, Khadi Fray, 2017.
TOAST, the clothing and lifestyle brand, has commissioned a group of artists in collaboration with Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, to re-work worn garments and fabrics, turning them into something unique and unexpected. The display – on show 30th October to 3rd November – aims to promote the idea that clothes can have a life beyond their first wearer; creatively supporting a lower carbon lifestyle.
The participating artists are: Abigail Booth (Forest & Found), Alice Fox, Richard McVetis, Hannah Robson and Sophie Rowley. They were invited to re-new old TOAST garments and waste materials – from indigo-dyed cloth to hand-woven ikats.
Abigail Booth works across textiles, drawing and painting. Her work explores the histories of piecework, pigment and cloth. She currently runs her collaborative arts practice Forest + Found, with whom she exhibits internationally. She uses traditional textile techniques in her work as a way to engage and stimulate a wider conversation on craft.
Image: Alice Fox.
Alice Fox is based in West Yorkshire and her work celebrates both her experience of the land and the inherent detail in organic objects. Sustainability is at the heart of her practice and she uses a mixture of natural fibres and gathered materials, often employing natural dyes, stitch, weave and soft basketry techniques.
Image: Permutation. Hand embroidery on wool 36 x 32 cm 2019. detail - Richard McVetis.
Richard McVetis uses labour-intensive, hand embroidery to explore our perception of space and time. His process is slow and almost ritualistic, each piece becoming a map of both the human hand and a visual record of the hours spent making.
Sophie Rowley is a material designer with an academic background in textile design. She reveals the hidden aesthetics of everyday matter through her innovative experimentation with process and craft.
Hannah Robson celebrates and challenges the limits imposed by the loom, exploring how threads can escape vertical and horizontal pathways and disrupt traditional woven construction. She uses a combination of loom-weaving and lace-making to create woven three-dimensional textile structures.
To coincide with TOAST Re-new there are three artist workshops taking place at Kettle’s Yard; Modern tapestry with Sophie Rowley, Quilt making with Abigail Booth and Hand embroidery with Richard McVetis.
For more information about the exhibition and workshops visit Kettle’s Yard.