Catherine Kaufman's beautiful textile pieces were influenced by strong female characters, such as Dickens's dramatic Miss Havisham. As well as specific written characters, Kaufman uses historical figure and mythological symbols which have been synonymous with femininity throughout literary history, such as mermaids and sirens.
Her textile pieces are made by needle felting dyed sheep wool, each piece took around six months to make. The process is arduous, but the outcome is beautiful. The piece shown above was inspired by the Greek mathematician, Hypatia, who was brutally murdered for her 'heretical' views. The lovely marble effect of the dyed wool, was, as Catherine told us, an affect of the dye bath and the colours of dye used. The vivid, ragged and distressed fabric parallels Hypatia's tortured flesh, from historical accounts of her death.
