As the new year begins, I’m excited to share the story behind my original artwork, Cotton Factory I, which expands upon my Corrodium series. Inspired by an abandoned cotton factory I explored following my residency at Villa Lena, this mixed media piece intertwines textures, history, and narrative, creating a work that feels both innovative and deeply rooted in my fascination with forgotten spaces. I was honoured to receive the Theresa Knowles Bursary Award for this original work, along with my limited edition piece Isolamento, at the Royal West of England Academy in Bristol in 2023.
Cotton Factory 1
This old cotton mill was once a buzzing hub of textile production, running strong since the early 20th century. For decades, it was filled with the whir of machines and the craft of fabric-making. By 1990, the doors had closed, leaving everything behind.
When I first visited in 2019, we couldn’t find a way in. It was tricky to navigate to the front of the huge factory without being spotted by people who lived nearby, so we decided to retreat and try again another time. I’ve been doing this for 15 years now, and the frustration of not getting into somewhere never really gets any easier.
Fast forward to 2021 – I had an art residency at Villa Lena in Tuscany, and since I had driven there from my studio in the UK, I thought I would visit the factory on the way back, hoping we’d get lucky and that we’d be able to get in this time! And… BINGO. See that huge gap in the door below? Someone must have blown the bloody doors off! Now all I had to do was squeeze through a tiny hole on the other side. It was tricky, but I managed it. I jumped up and down on the spot, squealing, and got rather excited that we were finally in.
It was as if time had stood still. Rusting machinery, sewing stations, and colourful cotton reels were frozen in place, slowly being reclaimed by dust and decay.
Fresh from my art residency, I was so inspired by this place that my mind started racing with ideas. I had already experimented with collage at the residency, but this incredible location sparked new concepts. I wanted to incorporate and combine textures and paper from the factory into a photograph of the factory itself – using a mixed media process. So, I set about photographing the factory from top to bottom – this time being more mindful of capturing it in a way that would complement the collage process. I thought about the materials I could use in the work. I found handkerchiefs, notebooks, sample catalogues, wallpaper, graphs, leaves, dust, clocking-in sheets, old newspapers, paperwork, and threads from the cotton reels – to name but a few!
The idea was to layer materials onto a canvas board and then transfer a photo on top. The transfer is transparent, allowing the layers beneath to show through. It was important to me that both elements remained visible – that at first glance, it appeared to be a photograph, but as you looked closer, the details emerged. When I got back to my studio, I started editing the photos immediately.
I was armed with new ideas and materials from my residency, so I experimented extensively, incorporating found textures and layers of history into the work. I added aged handkerchiefs, old photos, scraps of paper, cotton threads, and even dust collected from the factory floor.
The initial transfer was made, and I was thrilled. I added a found photograph, then painted in textured mediums, paints, and pen, finishing the work with a protective varnish layer. This piece is a testament to my love of weaving stories into my work – both literally and figuratively.
I’d love to hear what you see in this piece – what stories it tells you.
I chose this image as a starting point – a scene I photographed in the sewing room: colourful cotton reels that echo the factory’s past life. I loved the vibrant colours and the ivy enveloping the window.
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