Hazel Imbert

I am interested in the tradition of re-using textiles; from the familiar patchwork and rag rug to the questionable international trade in secondhand clothing from the rich West to developing countries which makes ‘High Street fashion’ ubiquitous and can destroy local textile production.

Many textile artists re-use fabric and other materials; because it can be cheaper; because it brings back designs and types of fabric; because it can surprise and delight by presenting materials in a new way; and because fabric and material that has already had a life and a purpose, brings a story and emotion with it.

I have made a shroud, using my children’s and my husband’s shirts. The design has the sleeves crossed over the front, to give the idea of arms wrapped around.

I chose the humble, workaday items of clothing in which my dear ones have gone about their daily lives so that I am close to that part of their experience. I have loved and supported them in these days, as they have loved and supported me…..and I have washed and ironed those shirts a hundred times.

I have used the breast pockets of the shirts, attached to a ‘scarf’, to hold the names of people I love, stitched onto silk paper hearts which you can just make out when the light shines through the fabric.