As a freelance artist and designer Heidi McEvoy-Swift’s work is multidisciplined, moving freely between theatre, education, participatory work and fine-art. She is committed to working only with waste and found materials, much of which is organic. Heidi McEvoy-Swift was one of GroundWork artists in residence in 2023, showing her work in The Ground Beneath Our Feet.
Stitch into another future
Heidi McEvoy-Swift is fascinated by the scars and marks of use, wear and tear, and time, and by individual decisions about what is precious, valuable or disposable. Starting with discarded, overlooked, insignificant scraps of life lived, which may be domestic waste, remnants from previous projects, or carefully collected pieces of the natural world, Heidi gathers fragments and reassembles them with stitch into another future.
Narratives of time and place
Sewing is a slow mindful process, during which the maker is entirely connected to the materials in hand. For Heidi McEvoy-Swift, this relationship informs each piece as it emerges, highlighting tensions or interconnectedness between the organic and non-organic parts of each. With its’ careful crafting, and intimate stitching, her work evokes narratives of time, place and the dynamics of human interaction with non-human ecologies and communities.
In contrast to her theatre work, Heidi McEvoy-Swift’s sewn sculptures are small, often as seemingly insignificant and ephemeral as their component parts. The work is often created within the environment; left as an intervention into place. Other pieces form parts of collections, or series of related works.
Sea level rise
“My recent work has grown out of a partnership with four other 2023 GroundWork Residency artists that resulted in the collaboration Ear of the Sea. This led me to a new body of work which directly addresses issues arising from sea-level rise; coastal erosion and flood defences. My ongoing work will be based around an artist’s dialogue between human and non-human, underpinned by research, time spent within the environment, interaction with involved parties, and making. Joining the Groundwork Network will enable me to make deeper connections with a broad range of artists and environmental specialists which will make all of this more possible.”
