The title of textile artist Sue Hotchkis’ new exhibition, Alchemy, perfectly captures the magical art of transformation she has mastered to create the mysterious and evocative works. The exhibition opens at Timeless Textiles in Newcastle this month.

Alchemy is defined as ‘a seemingly magical process of transformation creation or combination’. Hotchkis says this describes perfectly what she does.

“I create by transforming and combining elements, within the textile medium,” she said.

Hotchkis created her own materials to construct the works for the exhibition. The process allows her to experiment and discover new creative possibilities, she explains.

“It is only when I have created the materials that I can begin to intuitively build an abstract piece. I enjoy the challenges and problem-solving and often deconstruct the fabric I have made.”

The artist takes inspiration from the seemingly insignificant aspects of the environment that are often overlooked. She seeks out the visual records of ageing, weathering, and urban decay as the starting point for her alchemy.

“I find beauty in the breaking down of surfaces caused by nature and human use,” she says, “and record them with my camera.”

Back in the studio, Hotchkis studies and manipulates the images, zooming in and abstracting them. She searches for patterns, marks and colours to use for printing and embroidery. Her experiments involve layering, printing and heat distortion, as she plays with texture and scale. This is often exaggerated and intensified to reveal the detail and complexity within the source material.

“I aim to create abstract pieces, saturated with colour and stitch, which hover between object and image and speak of imperfection,” she explains.

The fascinating effect is to create work that is both beautiful and evocative of deterioration and ruin.