‘What if I Fly’ is an evolving collection of new work that pushes the scale, technicality and performance potential within her practice, that will ultimately venture into a collaborative exploration with performers. 

The collection harnesses the prevalent cultural associations between humans and birds to narrate the joy to be found in embracing who you are and flying free. Is what we need to buck societal pressure to be segmented and categorised, to celebrate all the factions of oneself, light and dark? Looking at perceptions of beauty, identity, mental wellbeing, motherhood, these abstract bird-like sculptures explore the path to freedom… to be bold, to be individual, to be everything they are.

The first piece, ‘One For Solace’, uses the often-ominous magpie to navigate through ones sense of uncertainty and self-doubt. The piece represents a push to find strength within and create your own fate.

The garment is constructed from repeated geometric ‘feather’ forms, each precisely crafted from bamboo silk, hand-dyed and embellished with gold and oxidised silver leaf. The components are meticulously hand-stitched together, forming a wearable sculpture that whilst striking when displayed alone, responds to its wearer’s movements, becoming their expression when worn.

'One For Solace' work in progress image by Kate Rossin for Made in the Middle