“Care is not one big act. It is many small, connected choices over time.”

Exploring the theme of CARE, artists Anna Hutchinson, Christine Simpson, and Brigid Teehan present a diverse collection of work that reflects on our deep connection to one another and the living world around us.

Through patience, consideration, and the quiet dedication of creating, the artists demonstrate how small, intentional actions come together to shape something beautiful and deeply meaningful.

Inspired by permaculture principles, this exhibition encourages us to slow down, look a little closer, and appreciate the delicate threads that bind us. Together, the artists invite us to re-evaluate our collective relationship with the Earth so we may protect and nurture our shared home.

Anna Hutchinson:

As a visual artist, I use freemotion embroidery as both a drawing process and a way of thinking. Its repetitive nature mirrors the way living systems grow, one small part at a time. Built from thousands of individual stitches, each piece grows through the accumulation of deliberate marks, where meaning emerges through time, attention, and repeated acts of making.

I am drawn to the often overlooked relationships that shape the living world. The more closely I look, the more I notice recurring patterns, rhythms, and structures that reveal our place within it. I never stop being fascinated by the way these relationships appear, and through stitch I translate those observations into work that encourages others to look more closely.

In this body of work, that fascination led me to think about care. Influenced by principles of permaculture, I see care not simply as kindness, but as a living network of relationships that makes growth, resilience, and renewal possible. Care is sustained through reciprocity, attention, and time rather than singular acts.

Care is not one big act. It is many small, connected choices over time.

Thread carries histories of making, mending, and repair. Every stitch contributes to the whole, just as every act of care contributes to something larger than itself. These works ask us to look again at the relationships that bind us to one another and to the natural world.

Christine Simpson:

I started to question and investigate the impact of humanity on our ‘Precious Earth’ after relocating (many years ago) from an urban to rural location. This move fostered a profound bond with nature, it’s cycles and it’s guiding forces as well as its strength and power. Before the advent of mankind the world was filled with trees, animals, flowers, mountains and more; a utopian vision reminiscent of the ‘Garden of Eden’. However reimagining the world in today’s context reveals a drastically altered scenario. The planet is now under stress due to human activity , leading to global imbalance and a disconnection from the earth. Every element of our natural world is intricately woven, interdependent and connected. Our eco system, along with the smaller systems within, is linked through cycles that create the web of life. These cycles must remain intact to prevent the unravelling of the threads that bind it all together.

Through my artwork I take on a critical role that seeks to contextualise the vastness of the human impact on the Earth while simultaneously revering the awe inspiring beauty of our natural world.

At its essence, my practice is about re -evaluating our relationship with the natural world. It is an invitation to reconnect, appreciate, protect and nurture our natural world.

I transitioned to digital photography when I discovered composite image making. This technique allowed me to merge traditional photographic technique with innovative technology. By crafting tableaus, using multi shot photography and sophisticated digital manipulation I am able to create surreal melded images from multiple photographs onto one seamlessly constructed print.

Brigid Teehan:

My practice is rooted in the belief that caring for the Earth begins with paying attention. Through drawing, installation and collaborative making, I create opportunities to reconnect with the living world, with place and with one another. I see creativity as a form of ecological care - helping us imagine and practise more reciprocal ways of living.

Inspired by permaculture and eco-literacy, my work explores the relationships between people, biodiversity and the landscapes we inhabit. I am interested in local materials, cycles of growth and decay, and the value of repair, reuse and collective action. Rather than making work about nature, I seek to make work with nature and with communities, recognising that the wellbeing of people and the health of the Earth are deeply interconnected.

Collaboration is central to my practice. Whether working in galleries, schools or public spaces, I invite participation as a way of sharing knowledge, building connection and fostering a sense of stewardship. I believe art can be a quiet but powerful act of regeneration—creating spaces to notice, to care and to imagine more hopeful futures together.

The Web We Weave

Launch: Saturday 26th September 2026 at 5pm