Wild Service - A commission for 9ft In Common and Belfast 2024
Photo by Simon Mills
Write up written by Meadhbh McIlgorm
https://9ftincommon.com/2024/08/wild-service/
We first met Emily McIlwaine who is an artist, a weaver and a mother via the application to our Growing Potential project back in January. We couldn’t include everyone who applied to that project, but we came back to her and the neighbours of Hyndford Street for our beautiful Bealtaine Gathering. We knew then that this alley and the people that lived on it still had more creative goodness to share.
The alley is intriguing. Closer to Bloomfield Road it is gated but this segment is open. The surface is so uneven that the council will only collect the bins from the top end or the entrance known as the ‘wedge’ on Alberta Parade. It’s a wild and liminal space for sure with weeds and moss in an ongoing battle with the tarmac. We asked Emily if she would like to take on one of our alley commissions, looking at weaving with willow and wool in different ways and presenting whatever those results might be in the alley for Lughnasadh as craft is one of our celebration themes for the season.
As part of the process we had some lovely conversions. We spoke about nests – nesting herons on the greenway and nesting in the context of making a house a home. We talked about making, and making the most of whatever outside space you have from the tiny yard to the alley – especially important with a small child and the challenges that come with that too. It is interesting that for the majority of the alley growing projects that we have encountered there is usually a determined woman at the centre, on a mission to make the edges of home that bit nicer. We hoped that presenting this type of work in the alley would continue to soften its landscape for those that lived there.
Emily suggested ‘Wild Service’ as a title for the project, inspired by the book of the same name, edited by the Right to Roam advocate Nick Hayes. The book argues that humanity’s loss and nature’s need are two sides of the same story and calls for mass reconnection to the land and a commitment to its restoration, celebrating the presence of humans in nature.
Wild service: the concept of service is vital to this new beginning. It subverts the culture of our time which sees nature as a resource to be exploited and humans… Instead, it allows us to begin from a radically altered position of deference… to the land itself. (Hayes, N., 2024, pg xiii )
In her artistic practice working predominantly with natural fibres and dyes, Emily explores the influence of Irish tradition, myth and the celtic wheel – already an amazing fit for our programme!
About her approach she said:
I like the idea that I’m not removing what nature is doing with the alley (weeds!) but I am honouring and adding to the space with objects that are made out of natural materials, which could be left to the alley without making an environmental impact. On another level I’ve been thinking about Lughnasadh and the rituals involved with that to show reverence and gratitude to the earth for what it gives us.
The beauty of commissions is that it’s a process of trust and transformation. You shake all of these ideas around and trust that the artist is going to translate it into something magic. As well as some experiments with willow structures for supporting plants that she had propagated, grown and cared for, Emily couldn’t resist using the opportunity to create some new weaves on the loom, and the results were marvellous.
The most striking piece was a large woven canopy made with naturally dyed yarn in a beautiful ombre of oranges and rusts. The canopy was precariously draped over branches arranged to look like the beginnings of a living willow arch. Through the gorgeous open weave you got snippets of walls, roofs and sky. The grids of threads echoing the grids of brick. It billowed in the wind, almost regal, as if marking a grand entrance, something palatial, with plants and greenery lining its sides.
The second woven piece was more subtle, made with a mixture of Donegal Yarns and linen. We felt like this piece reflected all the muted urban colours of the alley – chalky stoney neutrals, like patches of exposed brick and peeling paint. Terracottas and rusty brown. Earth tones and greyish blues. It was the first piece you encountered hung on a series of strings, reminiscent of washing lines. Emily’s practice is process led, there was no fixed final presentation conceived at the beginning of making but she said she ‘wanted to make objects that felt airy and spacious but also broke up the space and were semi interactive’.
Following on behind the woven piece, a selection of coloured linens drape and billow from the makeshift ‘lines’. Some are peachy, one is vibrant yellow, another is steely blue. The natural plant dyes she used included woad, weld, avocado and madder. For me, it’s hard to look at linens on the line and not think about the heritage of these terrace houses that were likely built for the workers of Owen O’Cork Mill on the Beersbridge Road, less than 500 metres away from where we are standing. There’s a deep history of work with fabric and fibre in the area and I’m sure at many stages the alleys were overrun with busy women and washing lines – sure how else would anything get aired and dried? I’m sure some of the neighbours think we are mad but who knows, maybe they will be inspired to occupy the space on the next good day for drying.
Exhibitions are by nature temporary but this is more temporary than most, lasting only a few hours this Sunday morning. Everyone who drops by stays to talk and chat for a significant time, likely lulled by the mellow soundscape which Joshua, Emily’s husband, had recorded to accompany the experience. The delish sesame flapjacks and mushroom pastries made by Lorna at Tacacucina help too and thankfully the rain holds off. Just as the alley is a throughway, rather than a destination, I imagine that the work Emily has presented will continue to move and transform into something else. We look forward to seeing how both it and the alley here continue to grow and develop.
Feature on BBC News
I was very excited to do a video feature on BBC News this week about my weaving practice!
Follow the link here to hear about my practice
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-northern-ireland-51511727
Womenfolk Interview
The way we spend our time defines who we are. It’s important to make sure we are putting our time into something we really believe in. For me, this can be described in three main points.
IDENTITY
It wasn’t until I was in my early twenties that weaving found me. I had started a degree in textile art, but felt that I could neither be classed as ‘artist’ or ‘designer’. When I started weaving, the process was all consuming. There was something so fascinating about the rhythmic, meditative (some might say boring!) processes to weaving fabric that appealed to me. Identity for me means finding a career path that engages your head, hands, and heart. Once you find your design identity, immerse yourself in it!
COMMUNITY
The more educated and skilled in our disciplines we become, the more we encourage others to share that passion, and it starts the ball rolling for a fantastic support network to share ideas with. Supporting each other’s disciplines and business ventures lifts the standard here in Northern Ireland for good design and strong practices, bringing creativity and job opportunities further afield than just the big cities. For this reason and more, Blick Shared Studios is an excellent regional hub for creatives to meet, share and inspire.
INSPIRATION
I find cross-disciplinary experiences stimulate creativity and encourage me to produce more interesting designs. It can encourage me to appreciate the skill needed to create something beautiful, functional and well designed. Most inspiration for me comes from fine art, or sculpture. Don’t be afraid to immerse yourself in something completely detached from your discipline; you might just break that creative block!