Henry Hussey’s works bring together vintage, hand-dyed and printed fabrics, embroidery and bead-work in the production of rich and emotive textile pieces.
Now Hussey will be part of a new group show – Vestige – opening at Gallery 8 on Duke Street St James on Monday 9th February.
“Scrimshaw” tells the artist’s very personal story of being a “secret child”, of growing up not knowing his father had another family. Hussey’s anger towards his father is purified in his mind, by creating something beautiful out of something terrible.
The imagery used derives from the artist’s own library of sketches of objects from museum collections, as well as photographs that depict emotional expression. Such photographs are an integral part of Hussey’s working process, as is his work performing with actors from the Royal Shakespeare Company which he uses to research and explore the ways that emotions are expressed through the face and the body. The result is a highly complex and colourful body of work.
Vestige brings together artworks that subtly or overtly reference historical imagery and objects, incorporating the traces that histories leave behind in unique ways. The exhibition includes arresting new works by artists Lisa Wright, Emma Vidal, Penny Byrne, Aaron Smith and Henry Hussey.