Artist Focus | Josh Blackwell

I recently came across the textile work of Josh Blackwell and thought he would be the perfect addition to my research and sample development.

Blackwell collects carrier bags from kitchen cupboards of friend's houses and off the streets while he's out and about and embellishes heavily on top of them. He works with the notion that plastic bags are the 2nd most cause of litter in the world after cigarette butts, and at first his work started as an effort of conserving the environment but now it's transformed into so much more.

He's taking something that is cast aside, given little thought, and makes it into a work of art and something that everyone can look at and appreciate despite it's previous form.

I love the the abstract way he uses colour and he embellishes the bags with almost anything he can get his hands on rather than just with a needle and thread. He also uses paints and dyes to work into the bags even more and each bag becomes one of a kind and something to be taken note of rather than just laying like rubbish on the side of the road.

Since I've begun developing my ideas surround the markets of Birmingham, I think Josh Blackwell is a great artist to pinpoint and take inspiration away from. I really like the techniques he uses to transform the old and used plastic bags he finds, and I'm going to give it a go and incorporate his style of working into my own development.

*photos taken from http://www.joshblackwell.com/