b. 1965, Yorkshire, UK

Bachelor of Arts (Hons), Exeter University, United Kingdom, 1987.

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I work with recycled materials especially vintage wallpaper and linoleum.  I love the tactile nature of these materials, how they smell and how they feel and imagine the stories they could tell (if only these walls and floors could talk).  And of course the colours and designs are often exquisite. I like contrasting the fragility of these elements with hard roofing metals for example – it seems to evoke a vulnerability or tenderness.  I was working with these materials before the earthquakes but of course they are particularly meaningful now as the properties they once embellished have been demolished.  These small works were made for people losing their homes or businesses as a result of the quakes and creating them fulfilled my need to respond or reach out in some way.  Where possible I used something salvaged from the property.

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‘Sarah employs recycled materials – lino, wallpaper, rubber and tin – these items are fragmented and then laboriously pieced together again, creating scenes that are both frayed but harmonious; distressed but beautiful. These ‘scapes’ boxed up like treasure, gather hope in what lies tattered and discarded, and beauty in what is imperfect and worn – what could be more inspirational and uplifting at times like these, as we begin to rebuild our scarred city? To me these works weave together a narrative of the past, cultivated from the places that these fabrics have been, and nurtured by Sarah into the infinite possibilities and potential for the future.’ (Rachael Slade, art consultant)

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www.dearlybeloved2012.blogspot.co.nz