Heather Colvin

This is the textiles graduation show of Heather Colvin at Dundee School of Art. A moving personal tribute to an incredible event in her family's history when her great great grandfather; Captain John Nichol's cargo ship laden with cement  was wrecked off the coast of Tierra Del Fugo in 1907.

"The concept of storytelling within a family unit is important to me. The technological age we live in is slowly effecting communication and interaction between the generations and as a result many people are unaware of their family ancestry and heritage.For this project i have explored the concept of  'family heritage from a wholly  personal viewpoint. I have created textile pieces that are inspired by stories that have been passed on through the generations of my family and are designed to encourage the act of storytelling within a family unit.The catalyst for this work has focused particularly on the life and exploits of my great great grandfather, whose stories of sea faring have been passed on to me through my parents and grandparents.The collection focuses on one particular event, and has developed into a project that is based on the contrasting cultures of the British Edwardian period my great great grandfather lived in, and a native american tribe from the Tierra De Fuego who helped the crew to safety after a storm had sunk their cargo ship.My project has developed into an abstract collection based on the clash between cultures. The story is communicated mainly through the idea of the unexpected, combining delicate pattern pieces with dark heavy stitch and print to create obscure textiles that fuse the traditional Edwardian era with the boldness of the native Onas tribe." Heather Colvin