Issy Valentine artist & bricoleur
self portrait 1998
Issy’s artwork is inspired by pseudo-memory of place and people; that space between what is known, what is remembered, and what is constructed, from fragments of the past and present woven together. She is an artist, researcher and bricoleur, finding inspiration from many sources. Her metaphorical and material threads connect to trigger memories and engage the senses. Her artwork defies the labelling of an artist in a particular genre, as she believes individuals to be more than the categories that define us.
Issy graduated in 2014 with Master of Fine Art (Art & Humanities) from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design (DJCAD). She also has City & Guilds Creative Techniques in Embroidery (level 2) with a distinction for her final project-‘Forgiven’. She is a member of the Society of Scottish Artists (SSA) and a Scottish Embroidery & Textile Tutor with (ETTS). She was also a founding member and Chair of Angus Open Studios (AOS) in 2014-15. She has had a voluntary role in the arts in Angus since 2011, and is available for talks, demos or delivering workshops.
Issy works in paint, fibre and print, and her ‘hidden archive’ installation ‘Reconnect to the Lost & Forgotten’ was part of the DJCAD Masters Show 2014. She spoke of the roles of family and institutional archives at the international conference ‘Memories, Identities & Communities’, hosted by Dundee University Archives. Issy’s artwork has been exhibited in Scotland and U.S.A.
Recent work seeks to deconstruct accepted narratives in social history, including family archives. She is fascinated by studying natural forces, celebrating the concept of wabi sabi in objects and places. Her horizons are widened by travelling far and wide, experiencing many other cultures, discovering common narratives repeated across generations.
She is a member of Sketchbook, a group of artists who meet weekly at Dundee Botanic Gardens. Understanding of science and nature is socially constructed. We attempt to tame, cultivate & manipulate nature, push scientific boundaries, but can we ever control it, what is natural?
Reconnect to the Lost and Forgotten
What we leave behind is a thread to connect us
To a past we cannot remember
To a place we never knew
Roots to ground and weave a future
Hid from our view
Copyright: Issy Valentine