Nerissa Cargill Thompson
Manchester, UK
Nerissa Cargill Thompson explores environmental issues like climate crisis, plastic pollution and waste through textile art using recycled materials, particularly old clothing, and mixed-media sculptures of textiles and concrete cast in the plastic packaging that we use and discard on a daily basis. She aims to make people consider the world around them and their responsibility to the environment. Her work explores juxtapositions of structure, texture and colour, particularly where nature meets man.
She creates her signature textiles using a combination of embellishing and embroidery. The embellisher blends the fabrics together to create subtle variations in texture and tone. The concrete captures the embossed patterns of the plastics representing manmade structures giving a weight and presence more in-line with its legacy. The naturally inspired textiles emphasise the way our waste becomes subsumed into the environment but also how nature fights back.
Nerissa originally trained in Theatre Design but returned to college after having children to study MA Textile Practice. She regularly exhibits in open calls, member exhibitions and as an invited artist. Also a member of Immaterial Collective and Design Nation. Nerissa runs workshops using recycled materials and creates miniatures and brooches from her offcuts to limit her waste.
Photographs: by the artist