SHIFTHINK

SHIFTHINK A UNIQUE EXHIBITION OF ART TEXTILES TO BE HELD IN ARUNDEL

OVER THE LEAP YEAR WEEKEND

The two artists met studying Textile MA's at university, both explore in-between worlds in their work

Alison Baxter (from Barnham) and Mona Craven (from Farnham) will be displaying their innovative Art Textilesin a three-day exhibition titled ShifThink, which will be taking place over the leap-year weekend (Friday, 28 February to Sunday, 1 March 2020) at the Victoria Institute in the centre of Arundel, West Sussex at 11 Tarrant Street between 10.30am 17:00pm each day.

Both use the familiar materials of thread, cloth and paper to create crafted installations that connect time, space and materiality. Both artists are holding workshops during the exhibition. Prints and jewellery will be for sale.

Mona creates installations, photographs and prints working with cloth, light and shadow, pencil, paper and thread. She explains: "My work is inspired by a love of beauty in battered and worn cloth. The worn imperfection of the used and the hand-me-down white cloth and the frayed blue threads left to clutch onto tightly become a reminder of home at the southern tip of Africa."

Alison explores a duality between jewellery and textile art through solidity and fragility and creates pieces that can be suspended or placed on the body, wall or ceiling. About her work, she comments: "With this body of work I am exploring how the perception of an art work can be changed and altered when either worn or alternatively presented as an installation. I am using materials

to capture and contain the impermanent, and to reveal the minute details that are overlooked and undervalued."

She continues: "A wearer of jewellery uses the body as a physical platform analogous to a gallery wall and this analogy can be taken further by pairing specific items of jewellery with specific types of art work; brooch or painting; earrings or ceiling installation; pendant or sculpture?"

Mona notes about the choice of exhibition space: "The old, the dusty and quirky Victoria Institute becomes integral to the encounter with the work. This experience in the venue is set off by the town and what it has to offer to the audience as a fulfilling worthwhile day out. This offers a different experience it is NOT going up to London to see a predictable exhibition, but an adventurous, thought provoking, stimulating day out in the province."

The Private View will take place Friday, 28 February 2020

from 17:00-20:00.

Workshops: Beginners welcome all materials will be provided. The workshops are limited to 10 places and cost £10, they can be booked via Eventbrite.

Saturday, 29 Feb 14:30-16:00 Sensory Drawing Mona Craven

An afternoon devoted to sensory observation exploring alternative approaches to drawing. Slowdown, investigate the secrets of the surfaces and the eclectic of the Victoria Institute. Create expressive, non-representational drawings discovering new approaches to drawing techniques and tools. Make time for YOUR well-being while engaging in the rewarding process of sensory drawing.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sensory-drawing-workshop-tickets-82495039885

Sunday, 1 March 14:30-16:00 Quiet markmaking with thread and stitch Alison Baxter

Explore how to create subtle, delicate marks on fabric that evoke shadows, traces and memories, using a minimal number of embroidery stitches, and a tonal colour palette. Use the interior space of the Victoria Institute as your inspiration to make a sample, that you can take away as the starting point for a resolved piece of work to complete in your own time.