sarah burgess

Statement

 My training in embroidery gave me making skills, a meticulous approach to working with materials as well as an eye for the experimental possibilities of a wide range of media and methods. Having worked for many years with a broad range of students across further and higher education, I prefer not to categorise what I do now. Stitch, print or installation - it’s just my work.

I use whatever method seems appropriate to what I am working on.

 Drawing is always important to my practice, allowing space for thought and investigation of my subject matter. Often using mono-print methods the exploratory drawn mark develops its own voice and may also incorporate text, both readable and unreadable. I enjoy the unexpected marks and textures which disrupt my print drawings and often find they prompt a new thought.  Prints may be layered with transparency or cut and pieced, inserted with silk making complex printed surfaces layered with marks of stitch, colour sometimes veiled by time or weather.

I am excited by the qualities of materials, including fabric but also ceramic, glass, wood, metal or feathers; materials strongly contrasting in weight and character and used for their expressive properties.

Previous work explored themes of glove making and working hands, in collaboration with several museums for G’love Stories, a solo touring exhibition.  Tracing older glove makers, I incorporated their stories as well as artefacts from the glove industry.

Following MA studies at Manchester School of Art, my work explored the accidental incidents that disrupt the smooth order and predictability of everyday life. Dementia and memory loss have been important themes, linked to the finding of pot shards from old hydropathic institutions. The shards and their emergence from the earth are important evidence of lives lived and points of change.

Responding to the unexpected and embracing risk has become important. My work for the DIS/rupt exhibition, Drowning by Numbers; 2 degrees and 4 degrees, develops the idea of risk and uncertainty in both its theme and working method. Allowing the work to absorb dye during the exhibition period was exciting and was a literal demonstration of drowning that I want to explore further.

 Working with tutor groups as a mentor and teaching occasional freelance workshops and summer schools stimulates my own ideas. Recent experience as an exhibition curator was fascinating and I find building creative partnerships particularly rewarding.  I enjoy working with architects and clients and have completed several large commissions for both private and church clients in both textiles and stained glass, including an innovative glass which retains the image of textile structures.