The Complicated Pattern: Unpicking and restitching the threads of Woven Identities By Anna Seaman Home is where one starts from. As we grow older The world becomes stranger, the pattern more complicated T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets: East Coker
What does it mean to belong in a society where everyone is transient? The artists in Woven Identities - Jeff Scofield and Stephanie Neville - have each spent over 15 years living and working in the UAE and their art reflects many of the complexities that entails. Scofield’s practice is rooted in materiality. His assemblages of found objects take reference from his greatest inspirations: Emirati Hassan Sharif (1951-2016) and American Tony Feher (1956-2016). Although ostensibly commenting on the threat to the natural world – a concern magnified when living in the desert, Scofield’s preoccupation with natural materials is poignant. They are temporary, much like human life and indeed, our relationships.
Jeff Scofield Arrested Vehicle (2016) Installation view
6
