Sarah Cowie

Sunday 6th July

Sarah Cowie is a multi-disciplinary artist, using puppetry and fabric sculpture along with various media such as digital photography, video, and collage to explore themes of communication, gesture, and materiality.

She uses storytelling to depict abstracted and fantastical fabric worlds which are populated by human-like puppet creatures. These creatures perform a sort of mimicry of reality, distorted by the strangeness of the materials. The uncanny creatures and strange worlds emulate a sense of anxiety, confusion, curiosity, and joy. The creatures are both charming and unnerving, encouraging a sense of sympathy in their almost person-like appearance, while their ambiguous design reminds the viewer of their materiality.

Her zines are an extension of her art practice, playing with the tactile and interactive nature of zines. They are covered or bound with fabric that features in her puppet works and are either hand bound with thread or stitched using a sewing machine, referencing the way her puppets are constructed and controlled.