In a globalised world in which hi-tech is more and more playing a major role in peoples lives, Wendy Hughes’ work goes against the trend. Her preoccupation is with work which has an effortless randomness and irregularity only possible when produced by hand.
Her work straddles the zone between textiles and fine art. Sometimes it is a single piece, sometimes a series of manipulates. She often uses transparent translucent materials which she manipulates and stitches to produce structures which can be seen as an integral part of the space in which they hang or are an extension of it. Because they are lightweight they can move with ease when the air around them is disturbed. This is an important aspect of Wendy’s work. She strives to give her installations a sense of life and energy relating to their surroundings as well as to one another.
She explores surface effects with fabric using a wide variety of materials from soft and floppy to stiff and rigid, manipulating the material to create relief forms which stand away from their backing like scales or tiles or hang alone. She makes undulating, cascading curtain walls or clusters. Her inspiration is based on organic forms. The constant movement of the installations is an important aspect of the work. Wendy enhances the effect by buckling the curtain walls so that they hang unevenly as well as being affected by the movement of the air. The multiples are clusters of simple three-dimensional modules which hang together relating to one another and suggesting a floating cascade.
Being modular based, the work involves a large degree of repetition which emphasises the quality of simplicity, rhythm and order.
Wendy Hughes’ work is intuitive and materially led. She pares down her ideas to minimum. There is no unnecessary decoration. The fabrics she uses add softness and vulnerability to forms the otherwise would be severe in their minimalism.
The work stands by itself, a statement in simplicity.