Yvette Hawkins returns as artist-in-residence

We’re delighted to announce that artist Yvette Hawkins will be returning as artist-in-residence.

Yvette previously worked with the Comfrey Project as volunteer coordinator in 2013, and from April 2016, the British-South Korean visual artist will be creating INHABIT: a new bio-structural installation woven by a colony of silk worms reared at the Windmill Hills Centre in Gateshead.

INHABIT has been made possible by a Grants for the Arts grant by Arts Council England.

Yvette’s work is in installation and sculpture and “explores hybridity, tradition, migration and preservation which relate to ‘the cultural other’”.  In particular her work revolves around her mixed race heritage and nomadic upbringing (residing in forty five homes across two nations).

The main medium in this work will be silk as it provides a crucial bridge between her British and South Korean heritage.  The use of silk has a rich tradition in both the UK and Korea.

“The silk worm thrives in hot climates yet can now be grown anywhere at any time of year through creating appropriate environments” says Yvette.

“Through this act the silk worm becomes a nomad, spinning their home wherever they go, yet they rely completely on human hand to create these environments for them and are not now equipped to protect themselves in their natural habitat.  They feed only off mulberry leaves, with only their sticky silk thread as a protector from other creatures”.

INHABIT will reference the role of the silk worm as refugee. The silk worm’s home and existence has been disrupted for the gain of another species and Yvette will develop an immersive installation inviting meditations on migration, home making, shelter and cultural identity.

NB: Worms will not be harmed in the making of this piece of work.

You can visit Yvette Hawkins’ website here, and she is also on Twitter