Jo Martin London, United Kingdom
Interdisciplinary artist from Yorkshire, based in Kent and Wood Green. I work primarily with fibre and textiles, creating large installations and smaller wall based textiles. The fabric is disrupted by toxic elements. My focus is on the hand sewn and analogue embroidery of the textile. The process is damage and repair. The work is supported by wooden frames, metal hooks, string and cord.
Materiality is key to demystifying the idea of the ‘genius’ artist. Working with unprimed jute,domestic paint,stains,oils,wool and thread, cleaning products, sand paper, glue guns, irons, presses. These are large scale works hung by hooks, string and cord from above, or contained within a structure. They are influenced by and have influenced smaller works which are condensed and detailed, some are in conversation with experimental etchings and mono prints. Supporting work include short videos that include original sound, asmr related,and experimental sculptural prints. My current work began as a response to a documented performance with my daughter. I was concerned with the meeting point and transitional relationship between 2 entities and the place ‘between’. My practice is informed by environmental memory and labour as art. Using traditional art and domestic materials, reflecting a womxn artist's life, I fuse art with domestic labour. Disrespecting the hierarchy of materials and giving value to the unseen repetitive actions of domestic and maternal work, It documents the stains, folds and the damage while recognising its value and positioning it within art spaces.
