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Completed during a residency with the Chester Art Centre in 2021, Irrational Repair is a series of work exploring ideas of how objects, humans and beings within nature are mended. Fishing nets and bait bags collected on the shores of Nova Scotia have been patched with nylon twine using a variety of techniques including, but not limited to; weaving, looping, crochet, coiling and traditional net-making techniques.

 

Seven bait bags in a variety of colours were flattened and 'mended' in both rational and irrational ways, drawing reference to notions of 'busy work' - something particularly relevant during the era of COVID-19 due to the sense of aimlessness and personal need for purpose. 

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Two three dimensional pieces, Limpet and CaCO3 are inspired by seashells and how they are both formed and can mend themselves. Limpets, a variety of conical snails, essentially '3D print' their shells using calcium carbonate, or CaCO3, which is produced in the epidermis of the mantle. Crochet and looping can also be viewed as a form of 3D printing, as form is created stitch by stitch, row by row. Shells are also capable of mending themselves in this manner, which has been shown in nylon twine through the piece CaCO3. 

The final installation Drip is meant to convey a sense of catharsis, fluidity and openness. A single overhand knot was tied to the end of each thread. It was then dipped in three layers of candle wax, and two layers of liquid rubber. While the rest of the work in this series is highly detailed and intricate, this simplified installation focuses on both the strands of nylon and their shadows, giving both the viewer's eyes a rest and the mender's hands a break.