Lady Kitt joined us for an artist residency in our woodland workspace in April 2024. Their residency culminated in a bold, interactive installation which premiered at Timber Festival 2024.
Lady Kitt’s work draws inspiration primarily from their children and their collaborative art endeavors!
Crafting serves as a tool for emotional expression and connection within their family, fostering both understanding and mischief. The installation provides people with a space to create handmade objects, facilitating the exploration and documentation of their emotions. Influenced by Anglo-Saxon knot work and English folk traditions, the fabric and rope sculptures evoke protective motifs found in historical artefacts from Durham and Northumberland.
Their work is also informed by their childhood experiences visiting Catholic shrines in Portugal, where vibrant colors and natural settings create evocative atmospheres. Similar to folk art practices, these shrines invite offerings and serve as focal points for communal expression and support. They emphasize the importance of “building creative intimacies” through collaborative cultural activities like Morris dancing, which offer emotional and practical solidarity within communities.
The installation emboldens participants to engage in the process of crafting as a means of emotional sustenance and self-expression. Lady Kitt envisions “sustain” as a dynamic environment that invites contemplation and celebration of complex emotions, moving beyond simple descriptors. The use of recycled materials underscores their commitment to sustainability and highlights the intersection of creativity and environmental consciousness.
Lady Kitt’s work embodies a commitment to creativity, sustainability, and community engagement, inviting audiences to participate in the ongoing dialogue of emotional expression and heritage preservation.
This bold and interactive installation premiered at Timber Festival 2024, in the National Forest.