Hide in Beech - Arts University Bournemouth

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Established in 1885 as a specialist institution, Arts University Bournemouth is a leading University offering high quality specialist education in art, design, media and performance across the creative industries.

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The University occupies a significant position in the cultural nexus of the south west. The University’s own Gallery is an important showcase for creative work and there are established links with other arts institutions in the area.

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Published 26th July 2018

By Kelly Morgan – MA Fine Art

For my final project on the Pattern and Fabric Printing short course, I decided to take my newfound knowledge of generating repeating patterns and combine it with a conceptual element to further push my Fine Art practice.

Hide in Beech scarf

On the weekends I often make a trip to the countryside where I stare into a deep backyard garden, watching the birds do as they please. On one of these weekends, I was informed that the beech hedge, which divides the property I stay at from its neighbour, was and is an ideal natural fence and windbreaker as the leaves do not fall off come winter. I love watching the blackbirds fly in and out of the hedge, chasing one another, and playing hide and seek.

Acorn and Blackbirds scarf

The birds and the hedge procured me to think about natural and organic things that are forced to change and conform to manmade environments. Blackbirds previously were not as common as they are today, but it was their ability to evolve in response to the human existence that allowed them to flourish while other species have decreased. The beech and birds have both been shaped by human hands, inspiring me to make my ‘Hind in Beech’ pattern, which I have thus made into a scarf.

Hide in Beech scarf

When the scarf is stretched out for one to see, the pattern consists of golden amber beech leaves and blackbirds in ridged, unnatural diagonal rows. This is a comment on how the wilderness and wildlife have been rearranged from its natural order. However, when the scarf is worn and wrapped around the body, the birds and beech leaves return to their natural order and the pattern becomes much more organic. Once again the birds look as if they are playing hide and seek in the beech.