Through the Lens
This project aims to explore the intersection of traditional painting techniques, such as realism and cubism, with contemporary textile design, using the jacquard loom to translate complex visual forms into woven fabrics. By reinterpreting still life and botanical subjects through the fractured lens of Cubism, I seek to challenge conventional approaches to both painting and textile design, while investigating the power of colour, abstraction, and perception, unlocking new visual possibilities.
Cubism, with its fragmented representation of reality and multiple overlapping perspectives, provides an ideal framework to explore how ordinary objects can be perceived and reconstructed in dynamic ways. A key aim is to capture the delicate quality of my watercolour paintings, using shaded satin structures to create harmonious blends of yarn and capture gentle tonal transitions, achieving painterly depth in woven cloth. This approach allows me to realistically represent my subjects in woven fabric while simultaneously manipulating perspectives by presenting colliding viewpoints, producing compositional tapestry-like fabric intended for upholstery and interior environments.
Weaving with mercerised cottons, I take advantage of the yarn’s natural sheen to enhance the richness of colour and elevate the visual impact of my colour-driven designs. The style and palette choices are heavily influenced by the Scottish Colourists—particularly Samuel Peploe and Francis Cadell—whose approach continues to inform and inspire my creative process. This project ultimately seeks to bridge fine art and textile design by integrating painterly techniques into woven surfaces. Through this synthesis, I hope to push the boundaries of both disciplines, creating contemporary textiles that are rich in colour, abstraction, and compositional depth.
I developed an additional collection of floral repeat digital designs, inspired by my time spent in Tokyo on exchange.
