Nerissa Cargill Thompson Interviewed by Meta Heemskirk - Waste Not, Want Not

This is the first article in a new series on Prism members who make textile art using non-textile materials.

For both economical reasons and environmental sustainability, Nerissa uses old clothes and scrap materials to make her artwork. Reusing is better for the environment than recycling, as less energy is needed and so why use new, when there is such a wealth of materials available to re-use already, often on its way to landfill?

Nerissa buys shirts, dresses and curtains for craft projects and workshops from the pound rail charity shops. She uses old suit trousers as the base fabric for her work. Particularly interesting to her are fabrics with wool content and multi-tone weave, as this reacts well under the embellisher.

These fabrics are combined with concrete, cast in plastic waste - sometimes litter, sometimes household packaging. As Nerissa's background is in theatre and she would always shop in the charity shops for costumes, she became very aware of the abundance of used clothing. So, when developing a personal artistic practice, it felt a natural starting point. She wanted to make something that visually conveyed the sense of permanence and legacy of pollution. Casting it in concrete gave this waste more weight and presence and a sense of future fossil.

The concrete also once again references urban and manmade. Nerissa is aware and conflicted by the environmental impact of cement production and is trying to address this. However, current alternatives would mean having to make a mould of the waste and litter and so would mean using more resources. Also, the concrete tells the story so effectively, which is important. The reason she started using it was that there was half a bag left over from a building project.

Nerissa does try to add recycled or waste aggregates and is currently experimenting adding pulped newspaper or egg boxes to make a form of papercrete. So it is an ongoing battle to balance! In her work Nerissa aims for coastal inspired textures, using a combination of embellishing and embroidery; she blends a variety of recycled fabrics to create subtle variations in tone. She chooses assorted items in her palette of greens and yellows, as the mix of different tones and weights gives a softer and more natural look to the finished work.

These are stitched inside waste plastic to cast true to life pieces with cement, giving a distinct contrast between the man-made structure of the packaging and the soft natural textures of the textiles. The size of Nerissa's work is confined to the size of the litter and plastic waste. For larger pieces she works in multiples, again not making a large mould, but instead making a combination of individually casted pieces.

In making her work Nerissa's main focus is probably her message about the impact and legacy of waste, which is emphasized by her materials. The non-textile materials offer a contrast and juxtaposition to the textiles, which in turn, helps to convey the message of nature versus man.

You can find out more about Nerissa's work on her website https://www.ncargillthompson.co.uk/