Harriet Riddell: Wilding
Harriet Riddell’s 2024 exhibition focuses on the theme of ‘Re-wilding’. With a passion for the great outdoors and the power of nature, Harriet captures the stories found in Britain’s flora and fauna. Through free-motion embroidery, Harriet looks at the connections and rhythms found in nature – from the roots of the dock leaf to the wing of the stork.
As a performance artist, Harriet loves an audience and will be performing her live stitched portraits at all three Knitting & Stitching Shows. You can come and sit in her Wilding exhibition and have your portrait stitched live by the artist.
This exhibition will show how Harriet can push her own boundaries in her use of scale. Going ‘big’ has its limitations when working with a domestic sewing machine. Harriet is working to overcome these boundaries and unleash a wilder side of stitching. The artworks tell a story through cloth and stitch and the materials used are dyed from plants found in the British countryside.
Harriet Riddell’s sewing machine has been on journeys all around the globe. Rooted in a longing to be in the great outdoors, adventure and drawing from life, Harriet AKA ‘InStitchYou’ has spent the last 12 years stitching scenes in the most unusual locations. From landscapes in India, Kenya, Taiwan, Vietnam and South Africa to name a few, while making art about people, place and culture.