Matthew Harris - Chain Reaction: one thing leads to another
We are very excited to be welcoming artist Matthew Harris back to the InStitches studio in 2025. A graduate of Goldsmiths College, Matthew has been working with textiles since 2000, having for the previous ten years made and exhibited drawings and works on paper. He has shown in a number of group and solo exhibitions throughout the U.K, Ireland and Japan.
Matthew's work employs dying, cutting and hand stitching and is concerned primarily with abstract imagery and the translation of drawn marks into cloth. By making work that is pieced, patched and assembled, he aims to create pieces that explore repetition, pattern and the disrupted or dissonant journey of line and image across and through the surface of cloth.
Over this four-day workshop with Matthew you will explore ways in which to generate a collection of visual material that has the potential to evolve and change along a three and a half metre length of cloth. Your starting point will be a collection of personal objects that you have acquired, inherited or collected. These don't have to be exceptional objects; they may be ephemeral or throw-away, or they might have strong associations or personal memories; they may form a group or be totally disconnected. What they must all share however are visual elements that excite and interest you; elements to do with colour, texture, pattern, form, material etc.
Working with a range of materials and approaches, including drawing, painting, collage and stitch, we will extract and play with information from your objects through observation, repetition, distortion, fracturing, stretching etc. Your piece of cloth will then evidence the process of this development along its entire length, recording the working and re-working of ideas and approaches as layers of information are laid down, worked over, re-shaped, hidden and revealed over four days to create a rich palimpsest that becomes an object in its own right or one that forms the starting point for further ideas.
Matthew will encourage and support you as you develop your personal language, creating a narrative and history through the interaction of making, materials and process.
Date: Tuesday 20th to Friday 23th May 2025 (4 days)
The studio will be open from 9.15am and the workshop will start at 9.30am until 4.30pm each day. Cost: £520 (this includes some materials) Also included are home-made biscuits with morning coffee, a light seasonal vegetarian lunch and an enticing cake with a pot of afternoon tea. Deposit: £260 Please note: Places are limited and are available on a first come, first served basis. Booking implies that you agree with our terms and conditions for in real life workshops. You can read them here: The Small Print |
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To see more of Matthew's work visit his website