Barbara Madley

In the age of the disposable, Barbara Madley finds materials in the abundance of textile detritus - discarded clothes, household linens, unfinished quilt tops, and long abandoned handwork. She then blends the techniques of industrial garment manufacturing, textile crafts, and fine arts to bring these worlds into a conversation: waste is reworked to connect human hands, memories, machines, and global economic networks.

Barbara's methods include hand and machine sewing, serging, dying, bleaching, stretching, ripping, mending, and curiosity. Barbara reveals, "I am always surprised by the distortions that occur as I mount the pieces on stretchers. The physical tension becomes visible. Shapes warp and seams fail. Flaws in the fabric become seeds of disintegration: tears to witness or mend. The resulting works are responses to the materials' prior lives, the found colours, patterns, and intrinsic character of the woven and knit materials themselves".

Come and see an exhibition of works by Barbara Madley at our boutique in Notting Hill.