Elizabeth Chester – Fractured

Woven tapestry is Elizabeth’s medium of choice. She sketches and works up compositions on the themes that she is interested in. These often take a quite graphic style and have recently been getting increasingly abstract. The bulk of the technique she uses is plain weave. Where the composition will benefit, she will use textured yarn, eccentric weave, tufting, cord wrapping or other three-dimensional weaving techniques to add depth and interest to the final image.

Her recent work has been informed by the struggle to sustain wild places in the face of constant pressure from human activity.

Where she lives, the land left for nature has been increasingly fractured until only pockets remain. These are cut off from one another and surrounded by intensively farmed land of monocultures or residential and industrial areas. In spite of this the wildlife continues to fight for its existence. Migrating birds still undertake huge journeys in search of their summer feeding grounds or winter safe havens in their constant search for plenty. In Spring and Autumn, they can be seen in great trails across the sky seeking their next destination.