Tabitha Moses

Artist Statement

My practice is rooted in the meanings and possibilities of materials. Domestic matter, found objects and craft processes are employed to create works with conceptual weight and emotional depth. Fabric and stitch are central to my practice - through the language of textiles I am able to discover rich connections and communicate latent emotions. I am interested in the transformation of discarded or overlooked subjects and materials into objects that speak with eloquence of the human experience.

The human body has become prominent in my work in recent years. Interviews with eczema and psoriasis sufferers formed the basis of Threshold (2012) in which I explored the sculptural and decorative potential of flakes, rashes and text. Most recently Investment (2014/15) was an attempt to find beauty and meaning in my experience of infertility and IVF. Investment, a solo show at Walker Gallery, Liverpool, comprised three hand-embroidered hospital gowns with photographic portraits. Each gown depicted the objects in which me and two other women put our faith during fertility treatment. Jon Barraclough made photographic portraits of us wearing the gowns at The Hewitt Fertility Centre, Liverpool.

Contradictions excite me and the work often inhabits multiple areas of meaning – seduction and repulsion, artifice and authenticity, the precious and the worthless. Exquisitely worked embroidery is often at odds with potent material such as hair or bones, or uncomfortable subject matter. My attention is drawn to that point at which beauty and horror meet.

The work is often quiet, non-monumental, intimate - an exchange to which the audience bring their own experiences and associations.