Common Thread Artists

My work has developed into snap shots of how I view teenage life, by observing my daughters and their friends. It is an observation of my relationship with my daughters as they progress through their teenage years, and considers how this relationship is always evolving.  My work is also concerned with the issues of control and how young people often feel they have no real control over their lives because of parental and official boundaries.  In addition I am trying to come to terms with the issues associated with letting go, as I try to rationalise my own thoughts and feelings, of having to allow my children to grow up and become independent people in their own right.

 

Embodied in all my work is also the idea of unconditional love.  In my practice I try to create a sense of autobiography, recording stories, feelings, emotions and moments in time.  After completing my dissertation on Mary Kelly’s Post-Partum Document, I found she has inspired the way in which I view my art practice. Kelly made me consider my work on another level, by raising my consciousness and calling me to question the notion of a previously constructed female identity.

 

In my practice I use a combination of fabrics, free machine embroidery, appliqué, and screen-printing to create a moment in time through large-scale drawings.  My pieces start with a saying or an overheard conversation and can be titled or left to the audience to interpret what the starting point may have been.

 

Caroline Kirton