...”and a great pestilence fell upon the land and in the silence and solitude they spun nettles to heal their souls and provide thread to weave and stitch together a different world...” Allan Brown
'The Nettle Dress' is an independent documentary film by Dylan Howitt. It was filmed over seven years, it documents textile artist, Allan Brown, as he becomes obsessions with nettles and by using traditional weaving techniques creates a dress that is a powerful garment, talisman and monument to the years and legacies that found their way into the warps and wefts.
“The weaving, spinning, gathering, was like I was being equipped with these tools to get me through what was coming up.” Allan Brown
In quick succession Allan looses his father to leukemia and his wife Alex to terminal cancer. The Nettle Dress becomes a meditation on strength in the face of indescribable grief a dress that is ultimately rugged and sturdy, a tangible metaphor for the experiences Allan navigated during it's creation.
“On some levels it feels like it’s been a process of weaving a shroud, because it was totally there to absorb the loss and the grief.”Allan Brown
