My practice combines early childhood experiences of domestic textiles and home sewing, with my formal art education in Fine Art / Painting, where postwar British abstraction and American abstract expressionism were defining influences. My work explores what it is to have a material practice in a time of climate change.

Resisting disciplinary hierarchies and ascribing new value to ‘throwaway’ scraps, I construct artworks using screen and mono print, embroidery and needlework techniques. Through these materials I explore the formal qualities of abstraction in response to everyday life. Textile exists as both form and content in my work. Underpinning my process are considerations of the qualities and memories of everyday material, sustainability, textile waste, and the significance of textiles in relation to; body, home, and the environment. Recent works have included elements of figuration and narrative, in a visual language that explores the relatedness of body and touch to navigating the world.

I rely on chance in the making process, where the resulting works navigate the uncertainty and fragmentation of our existence, together with my personal compulsion to reconstitute and reclaim.

©maxinesutton 2024