Ella Hickman
She/her
My practice combines textiles and found item installation to interrogate the labour and gender politics around craft in post industrial society.
She/her
From a young age, the women in my life nurtured in me a deep respect for craft. These formative experiences, combined with an interest in its feminist legacy, have shaped my understanding of craft as a symbol of feminine identity. My practice, rooted in textiles, embraces traditional techniques such as embroidery, knitting and crochet. Each piece is deliberately hand-crafted, bearing dropped stitches, small holes, and uncut threads—imperfections that intentionally reveal the labour behind the work.
‘I’m so relevant I’m disappearing’
This work explores the concept of “labour of love”, women’s unacknowledged and unremunerated labour, symbolised by the visible bobbin thread, typically hidden in embroidery. The use of a bedsheet as a canvas situates the piece in the domestic sphere, referencing the gendered politics of the home. Juxtaposing the textiles, curated found objects reference the readymade movement, exploring the commodification of labour and subversion of traditionally feminine crafts in a post-conceptual framework. Drawing on Anni Albers’ concept of tactile sensibility, this work critiques the erosion of traditional craftsmanship under technological advancement and invites the viewer to tactically engage on a physical level.
I successfully completed a six-month internship at the prestigious London-based embroidery atelier Hand & Lock, where I acquired practical experience across multiple departments within the creative industry, including the in-house studio, e-commerce, production, and marketing. Specialising in machine embroidery, I had the opportunity to contribute to bespoke projects at every stage, from initial design and sampling through to final production. Following the conclusion of my internship, I continued to collaborate with the events team and the machine embroidery department on a freelance basis, progressively enhancing my expertise and assuming greater responsibility in my work.
