Weaving wildlife into the fabric of the city
Weaving, wildlife and journalism have come together in a student’s final degree show this summer.
Textile design student Lara Williams, 22, took inspiration from three species found in London, creating woven samples and a newspaper
to capture the animals’ personalities and appearances.
The animals in question are the red fox, feral pigeon and ring-necked parakeet, chosen for their unique controversies and public perception that Lara wanted to challenge.
She said: “I was speaking to people who loved seeing foxes in the countryside, but hated them with a passion in a city environment. They’re the same species so I found this attitude fascinating.
“Then, when I spoke about the parakeets, some people didn’t even have a clue they were wild in London. How people hadn’t noticed an incredibly loud, bright green parrot is beyond me but it gave me some insight into how people interact with wildlife in the city - they often don’t.”
She continued: “There’s definitely a sense that the city is a human place which these creatures are invading. When hair is removed from your body, it suddenly becomes grotesque - the same concept seems to apply to these animals when they appear outside of a rural envirnoment where people think they belong.
“They suffer from a lot of misunderstanding, they’re only animals trying to survive, like us really. I hope this project helps people to learn about and empathise more with the creatures we share our space with.”
The show intends to reflect not only the animal’s appearance, but how they behave too. For example, parakeet samples are hung high as that’s where they like to roost.
“You have to look up to see parakeets in the wild, so I wanted to bring that viewing experience to the show. Likewise pigeons tend to occupy a middle-ground and foxes are always at our feet.”
Lara was lucky enough to win a jacquard competition run by Gainsborough, a mill in Sudbury known best for recreating beautiful historic jacquard designs. The prize was a visit to the mill and two metres of her own design woven on the industrial looms.
“My design was inspired by the idea that these animals are part of the landscape, but so often hidden. The animals are only revealed by the change in weave structures so you have to go looking for them.”
The camouflage shapes behind the animals are taken from a map of London boroughs upon which Lara had mapped the density of the creatures.
Lara will be starting an MA in Interactive Journalism at City, University of London in September.
She said: “Mapping, data and story-telling will be a big part of my future career as a journalist, so I wanted to include them in my final project as a nod to the next step.
“I’d also really love to write about wildlife and conservation in the future, so this was a way of educating myself and practising telling those types of story.
“I’m going to miss coming in and playing about with colour and yarn everyday, but my back and shoulders will be thankful I’m not going to be hunched over a loom for hours at a time.
“Oh actually, I’m just going to be hunched over a computer instead…damn.”
