Evie Parley - BA (Hons) Textiles in Practice
A Knitted Forest / No Growth, No Mud
As an expressional knitwear creator, I am extremely material and process led, using tactility and mixed media studies to respond to my environment which I later develop into knitwear designs, to challenge our disconnect from our deeper selves. Knit is exciting to me as there are many possibilities to challenge my craft, through experimentation and playfulness, pushing the boundaries of knit and our interactions with it as the maker, wearer and viewer.
My design process is rigorous, featuring mixed media studies integral to my sampling and garment development. I have an intentional and deliberate approach to my practice, balanced out with the spontaneity of my drawings. Through doing so each aspect is explored to its potential, allowing me to communicate my concept authentically. I appreciate slow methods of working and my relationship to my creative process enables me to communicate a personal connection to my work.
My recent projects aim to capture the healing essence of nature through wearable, grounding textile designs. Wherever possible I hoped to incorporate the organic world into my work: from forest bathing drawings to foraged dyes from the surrounding trees, to using only natural fibres. This was in response to the vast benefits nature has to our health and wellbeing, as well as even small connections to nature making a person more likely to protect it. Later progressing to highlight the concept of growth in unexpected and uncomfortable places.
I am driven towards ethical contexts, finding how we interact with fashion and art interesting with its ability to reach wide audiences who can experience it on a personal level. As a tool for change, I feel it carries a large power to spark interest in a range of matters. My knitwear pieces aim to be a statement, as a vessel to evoke thought and reflection.
