TABS

Sue hiley harris

An expatriate textile artist shifts her practice from scarves to sculpture, finding inspiration in geometry and nature

Left: Loop the Loop, 2000, hemp and linen, handwoven
and constructed
Right: Waves, 2000, linen, handwoven and constructed

Sue Hiley Harris was born in Australia and now lives and works in Wales. For many years she has had a fascination with silk and produces a range of distinctive handwoven silk scarves and naturally dyed arashi shibori scarves.

Support from the Arts Council of Wales has enabled Hiley Harris to have periods of intensive experimentation and development. She now creates free hanging sculpture and wall mounted relief pieces suitable for public buildings as well as small scale pieces for domestic settings. The concepts for these structures bring together pervasive themes in her life and art, encompassing the study of fine art, a fascination with geometry, an abiding interest in science and the environment, a deep understanding of yarn and the practice of weaving.

I respond to ideas, shapes and geometry in nature and life and translate an essence into my sculptures. Woven into the pieces is a precise structural regularity; enhanced or distorted by the chosen yarns: hemp, linen, bamboo, paper, wool, silk, wire or nylon; monofilament, plied or singles. Free hanging, the sculptures respond to their setting, to changes in light and to the movement of the air.

The idea evolves over time as a ‘mind’ weaving. The piece takes shape, each intersection envisaged, each thread accounted for, while holding the image in my mind. Then sketches, paper models, mathematical calculations and templates; finally the warping weaving and construction.

Recent works by Sue Hiley Harris will be exhibited at the Ararat Gallery, 28 February - 11 April 2004

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