By Way of Granite & Gorse

Traction Project Space 

2026

By Way of Granite & Gorse brought together elements of an ongoing Arts Council funded R&D project, particularly work that grew out of a residency at Southcombe Barn.

Working with plants from areas of Dartmoor, the site-specific textile pieces are naturally dyed with Heather, Gorse, Doc Seed, Mugwort, Eucalyptus and Nettle. The pigments were gathered in early August from around Southcombe Barn apothecary garden, Grimspound ancient settlement and the stretch of moorland in-between.

The project approaches the land as animate, lively and full of memory. It considers how matter has resonance through time and how plant traces might act as a form of record. The works draw on practices of site sensitivity & ‘material witnessing’; looking at how matter carries trace evidence of past ecological events & how this might be incorporated into textiles through plant dye. There is reference to kilt histories in relation to dye & how each tartan would have reflected local ecologies.

The works incorporate hand weaving, had spun yarn, natural dye and digital knit processes.