| Sabi Westoby |
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About meI have been a maker since learning to knit aged six. Creating tangible and largely useful work has been important to me.
After a decade of making traditional patchwork quilts I found a new direction in 2010 when i immersed myself in mixed media courses and workshops. I painted fabric, stitched paper and melted plastics. I learnt to create my own fabrics with dye, print and batik leading to a different way of working – free, expressive and experimental. Working in series, I concentrate on a theme or technique to see how far I can take it. This has included monochromatic work, digital imagery, painted fabric and text. I have made several bodies of work - textile wall hangings on themes as diverse as poppies, concrete brutalism and Virgil’s Georgics, all of which have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions. |
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My series of textile work, 'Uprooted', was made in direct response to the Guardian newspaper's supplement, The List, published on World Refugee Day, 20 June 2018, recording 34,361 known deaths from 1993 to 2018 of refugees and asylum seekers reported to have died while trying to reach the relative safety of Europe. I had to give form and shape to the named and unnamed men, women and children who had died fleeing torture, persecution and civil war. So not making art was out of the question.
The 18 wall hangings arising from The List were shown in August 2021 at the Festival of Quilts, NEC Birmingham and at the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate in November 2021. A selection were also shown at my solo exhibition in Willesden Gallery in 2023.
The 18 wall hangings arising from The List were shown in August 2021 at the Festival of Quilts, NEC Birmingham and at the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate in November 2021. A selection were also shown at my solo exhibition in Willesden Gallery in 2023.