Kendall Clarke

 

Warp, weft, stitch, thread  2021

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Fibre: texture and surface 2022

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Kendall is an artist interested in textile cultures and techniques, and in the histories of writing and language. Her practice is driven by her love of the materials of weaving: of the feel of the yarn as it moves through her fingers, its complex interlocking into a durable structure, the metamorphosis of a thread into a piece of cloth.

 

She often uses the making process to subvert the inherent properties of her materials, creating translucent screens from metallic yarns, or stiff, papery surfaces from soft handwoven cotton. She has a particular interest in paper and paper-like yarns. Much of her recent work has used a subdued palette to explore written relics and dead languages, but she is also an experienced dyer and develops her own unique colours from natural sources.

 

Her work is characterised by fineness and detail and is informed by the subtle aesthetic of Japanese crafts. She uses weave along with painting and erasure to construct multi-layered pieces that embody concepts of fragility and survival. Many of her pieces contain piercings, apertures or gaps, which create dynamic light and shadow play. They suggest the incomplete survival of ancient artefacts and allude to the deficiencies of perception.

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