Valerie Carew (she/her) is a Canadian artist working with body-based fibre sculpture, photography, performance and painting. Rooted in the settler cultures of Atlantic Canada, her interdisciplinary textile practice explores relationships between land, dwelling, and personal identity. Traditional hand hooked rug making, characterized by utility, material reuse, and pictorial storytelling, is re-configured into land immersive wearables and sculptures. As a collection, the pieces transport the viewer to Canadian dreamscapes and shorelines. Material preparations such as sourcing plants for natural dying, processing and hand spinning sheep’s wool, fish leather tanning and seed work are added to her signature use of repurposed household textile, metallic textiles, beading and whip stitched components. Carew exhibits and delivers art talks internationally. She holds an Interdisciplinary Master’s in Art, Media and Design from OCAD University (2016) where she received the Outstanding Exhibition Award for her thesis Enclosure Movement: Comparative Dwelling and Embodiment. She is a recipient of grant funding from Canada Council For The Arts (2020), and her work can be viewed at the Craft Ontario Shop.

ARTIST STATEMENT:

Immersive Journeys: Hand Hooked Land Stories describes a journey through personal encounters with the wild and cultural ties to eastern Canada. The traditional craft of hand hooked rugs, characterized by textile re-use and pictorial depictions of land and home, is merged with performance and the body through roleplay. Memories are harnessed for new world building, made from a desire for connection and escapism. Tactile masks, garments and topography sculptures, with the addition of video, photography and kinetic components, animate place and personal experiences, and invite you to join these dream-like walking journeys. As a whole, the work reveals the body for what it is- alive, wild, active, and transformational.