Graduate stitches up major exhibition

EMBROIDERY graduate Elizabeth Jane Winstanley will be showcasing her experimental creations at the Manchester Craft and Design Centre this month.

Elizabeth won the centre’s 8th Annual MMU Graduate Solo Exhibition Award for her work, which the centre described as “pushing the boundaries of embroidery”.

Her exhibition, “Tactile Illusions” will feature a large body of Elizabeth’s work, including pieces that she developed in her final year at University whilst experimenting with surface patterns and alternative media.

She creates illusions of line and colour through using light emitting wire and patterns, which she then screen prints onto acrylics. She combines digital processes and technologies with handcrafting each object to challenge perceptions of craft and embroidery.

Connecting and engaging

A range of Elizabeth’s tactile samples will also be on display, and visitors will be actively encouraged to handle these objects. Finally, the exhibition will demonstrate the processes that Elizabeth uses in creating her patterns and artworks.

Movement is essential when interacting with Elizabeth’s artworks, and visitors will find themselves ducking and weaving around each object in order to explore it fully.

Elizabeth said: “I want people to engage with my work. Every piece you see in the exhibition is interactive in some way, either through touch or your own movement around the space.

“I am a huge fan of interactive art, I love being able to connect with work through more senses, gaining an experience as opposed to just looking.”

Professional recognition

Elizabeth said that winning the prize, which is given annually as part of the University’s Summer Degree Shows, has given her a huge boost.

She said: “Winning the prize was a huge – but awesome – shock! I wasn’t expecting it at all.

“It meant that all the hard work I had been putting in over the last three years had paid off. I was being recognised for what I had achieved and more importantly it confirmed to me that what I was going was great and recognised by professionals in the industry.”

The exhibition will run at the Manchester Craft and Design Centre from Saturday, 15 March to Saturday, 5 June.