The word at the centre of my practice is comfort. All of my pieces stem from a search for comfort surrounding negative experiences I have encountere

In this current phase of my practice, my work is primarily concerned with exploring my experience of having been hospitalised in a psychiatric hospital. The natural path, I found, for exploring comfort in an artistic practice was to begin working with textiles processes. Blankets, quilts, soft toys, children’s fabric books and clothing are all items whose tactility and textures bring people reassurance. I have been intrinsically drawn to soft fabrics, threads and yarn to explore the uncomfortable and upsetting memories I have.

Textile works frequently involve time consuming, prolonged processes, which allow for reflection and a space to sit with the work. By spending time with a thought or memory and transferring it into the process of sewing/knitting/stitching, there is comfort to be found in removing the experience from me and putting it into a soft, tactile object.

Text and words are also intrinsic to my practice. Noting down reflections of experiences and memories, phrases and thoughts often functions as a starting point for beginning the process of translating these experiences into textiles works. The written word contributes to the reflective and comforting purpose of my practice, becoming an outlet to extricate myself from uncomfortable memories.

As well as the written word, I often implore the use of my own visual language. The ‘squiggly shapes’ I draw and translate into textiles began as a coping mechanism during my period of psychiatric hospitalisation. These shapes have become vital to my practice, representing the comforting act of drawing these lines. 

Instagram: @caitlinroseart_