Of Quiet Observation

January 12th - February 24th 2008

Walford Mill Crafts presents a solo exhibition by Sheffield based artist Hilary Bower,
'Of Quiet Observation' which is a major body of her new work developed over two years.

Hilary's work is painstakingly crafted in lead, wood, aluminium, fabric, thread and paper and each piece of work is the result of a lifetime of noticing. Described as an exploration of 'the everyday, incidental and seemingly insignificant', Of Quiet Observation also represents a desire for
clarity and the search for a language in which to express a comprehension of a world
that is both material and non-material.

Hilary's challenge is expressed in the desire to use ordinary materials of lead, wire, cloth, wood and nails and to make something other of them. Boxes enfolded in aluminium are scoured, scored and painted. Wooden trays are wrapped with waxed fabric, fitted with textured cloth bags and enclosed within a perimeter of embedded nails.

Nailing, scoring, printing, waxing, wrapping, threading, painting: there is an intense physicality in these techniques. There is a sense of adventure in the mark-making: metallic lines of hammered nails, printing plates of aluminium stitched with linen, threads massing in space. Both represent a desire to capture a subtle mark, one that will stand on its own in each piece of work and, in so doing, draw the threads of every element together.

Whilst rich in personal associations and rooted within a tradition of making, there are no overt references within these works. Rather, they reflect the unconscious absorption of influences over time, of moment quietly observed. The land, well-travelled roads, fondly remembered people and places, are all unassumingly present yet never acknowledged.

Come and visit this amazing and very inspirational exhibition that will be exhibited in the Philip Goulden Gallery at Walford Mill Crafts from January 12th until February 24th .