After

After
Exhibition statement
Who knew that over the course of this year
our world would become even closer to
the one described in the book that inspired
me to create After. 1
I set off at the end of 2019 for two months
of walking. Embroidery in tow, for the
purpose of plunging myself into a digitally
reduced experience. Hiking up and down
mountains, crossing rivers and having
many conversations with fellow hikers
about food, pack weight, weather and
distance. Weather updates were hand
written and left in huts by rangers who
had walked in for this purpose and others.
We were all having a direct experience
of nature, each other and ourselves. An
ever-changing community of intention. At
times I was alone for days. My walking,
punctuated by meals, tea, making fire,
letter writing and embroidery.
A couple of weeks after returning from
the walk the pandemic hit. Life went
from feeling infinite in a natural sense to
infinite in a digital sense. The internet was
utilised like never before to socialise, to
entertain and to document ourselves into
mundanity.
I have always been aware of my screen
addiction tendencies, partly why ‘The
Machine Stops’ captured my attention
so strongly as a text of foreboding.
But I didn’t resist. I became as internet
dependent as everyone else. I went to the
theatre online, documented my attempts
at food growing, documented my dog,
documented myself and spoke most
days with a different friend either through
messaging or video calls. Only to feel a bit
empty.
These two opposing experiences have
fed into the work produced for this show.
I have been interested in what I’ve heard
from others during these times from a
mental health perspective in addition to
my own experience. This imagining of a
future world where nature is valued and
central, where there is deep connection
with others and ourselves and where there
is a return to handmade crafts is not a
new idea. It is an image of Utopia that has
been imagined with slight variations since
ancient times. 2
The recurring motifs of nature throughout
the pieces are inspired both by the art of
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