Traces by Reveal:6

Traces: 11th December – 15th January

Reveal:6 are a group of contemporary artists united by an interest in textiles and mixed media. They have exhibited nationally and internationally, and their individual work has featured in books and publications and sold through UK galleries. The work featured in Traces has been inspired by the many delights of the mill, and expressed through the diverse techniques used in their individual practice. Social history, the evolving use and sheer physicality of these buildings, detritus, decay and renewal have all informed the resulting artwork in the exhibition.

Jan Flamank

Slivers of fascinating stories, both personal and industrial, have directly informed Jan’s work for this exhibition. Soft fleece, alchemy and the cheap, hard labour of many to produce vast wealth for the few; all glimpsed within the delights of the archives and the powerful buildings here. Jan combines drawing, painting and mixed media to make multi-layered work that contain fragments of the intriguing details she found. The titles are integral to each finished piece, and suggest some of the thinking that underpins her work, and her interest in social history.

Judy Merchant

Judy is drawn to the idea that nothing is permanent, that everything is in a transient state and that there is beauty in imperfection. She drew inspiration for this work from seeing the transition of the successful working Mill to an evolving creative hub. Her work echoes this process of change as she works in layers which conceal and reveal what went before. Judy uses fabric, paint, gesso, machine and hand stitch to create surfaces which constantly change, incorporating unexpected and accidental events, leaving traces of past history whilst creating something new.

Jennie Merriman

Continuing a journey steeped in layering, construction and the experimental process, Jennie uses acrylic sheet and a variety of media including dyed organzas’. Initially informed by textiles and embroidery she uses a variety of unusual methods to build and decorate boxes that represent Sunny Bank Mill, the archives and the machinery. Problem solving and discovery lie at the heart of this process; she uses acrylic sheet as a base to imitate more traditional textile techniques. It is purely experimental and works towards the characteristics of harmony and discipline. Starting with two dimensional pieces the work builds upon itself to create three dimensional geometric structures.

Kerry Mosley

Sunny Bank Mill’s history is written on its walls and found in rusting machinery, layers of archived woven cloth samples and colourful dye charts.  Its future is in creative re-purposing. Kerry has taken traces of Sunny Bank’s past and future and using traditional textile techniques and contemporary materials created new work for this exhibition. The past reflected in the future.

Fiona Rainford

The effects of the passage of time have long been a feature of Fiona’s work. Things which no longer serve their original purpose hold a fascination and can often be incorporated into the work giving the items a new life and thus making the unloved loved again. This seems apt in a mill which no longer produces cloth but is taking on a new and vibrant life.

Wendy Rudd

Vast sheds, once filled with machinery, noise and activity, now lie quiet. Cables and wires hang loose. Wendy uses layers of waxed papers, graphite and stitch reminiscent of the old walls, narrow strips a memory of the threads left behind.

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