Watch 'The Man Who Mends Things' by Ann Farley
Ann Farley is a self-taught painter and sculptor whose work explores the extraordinary within the ordinary. Rooted in childhood memories of wandering Sussex landscapes, crafting stories, and embracing solitude, her art is driven by an innate sense of play, imagination, and deep connection to the natural world. From an early age, she found solace in creating - first through drawing and writing in the Bahamas, then through long hours of wandering Parisian streets, absorbing art and history.
Her figurative paintings and sculptures draw from myth, history, and personal narratives, reflecting themes of fragility, memory, and humanity’s relationship with nature. She believes in allowing the work to guide her, listening to the subconscious and embracing chance. Her paintings are inhabited by human or animal figures, each carrying a story, while her sculptures emerge from deep-rooted childhood imagery, influenced by medieval iconography, folklore, and biblical tales.
The Conversation, Oil and Collage on Board, Ann Farley
A lifelong advocate for the handmade, Farley’s work speaks to the power of preservation - of tradition, of craft, and of the natural world. Her stop-motion animation, The Man Who Mends Things, is a poetic response to our throwaway culture, a meditation on care and repair in an era dominated by fast fashion and mass production. The film, which has been recognised at international festivals, including the 2023 Suncine Environmental Festival in Barcelona and the Frome International Film Festival, where it won Best Film, Audience Award, and Directors Award, champions the quiet beauty of restoration. In a world where textiles and objects are so often discarded, Farley’s work reminds us that mending is not just an act of repair, but an act of reverence.
Through painting, sculpture, and animation, Farley continues to explore themes of wonder, resilience, and our delicate place within the natural world. Watch the film below, and read on for '5 Minutes with a Friend' with Ann.
The Man Who Mends Things
What inspired you to make the film “the Man who Mends Things" ?
I have wanted for several decades to make a piece of environmental work - something that comments directly on the environment and the future for all of us - but I had never known how or what it might be. A residency came up at Somerset Film for the summer of 2022. I pitched for it, and to my amazement I got it! I had never made a film or a proper animation before. I had tried out a couple of very little things out on my website, which helped me get the residency, but I was a complete beginner.
Eric and the Neighbours. Film image still - The Man Who Mends Things, Ann Farley
I had the scripted poem already written based on a story a friend of mine had told me about Eric (the man who mends things), and what he had done during lockdown. That was the starting point for my story poem.
I just think that although of course water, food, shelter and health are indisputable needs for all of us, a future is also a fundamental requirement for all of us too, and that means the environment.
Do you like mending things yourself?
Yes I love mending things. I find it incredibly restorative and confidence boosting, and its wonderful to breathe new life into something. I especially like darning, repairing clothes, and sashiko - especially the Japanese idea of Wabi Sabi - that the repaired article becomes more beautiful than the original as it ages and gathers history. The Artist Louise Bourgeois said, and I quote: “sewing is the emotional repair of the heart“.
Erics Coat. Film image still - The Man Who Mends Things, Ann Farley
What is your first memory of a textile?
I'm not sure it was a textile that I particularly loved, but the memory is of being made to wear itchy scratchy hand knitted jumpers over itchy scratchy wool kilts while trying to sit still!
Can you put into words what you love about textiles?
I love their function. 'Nihil pulchrum nisi utile est' (Nothing is beautiful unless it is also useful) - I love this Latin translation and it has been with me a long time, the idea of form following function. I also love the way that textiles are usually blocks of non uniform colour and quite graphic.
Reference Books. Film image still - The Man Who Mends Things, Ann Farley
Where is your most inspiring place to work?
I don’t really make new textiles, I work with pre-made ones and recycle them. I work in my studio with my old sewing machine or by hand. I have just finished making a silk embroidered waistcoat from second-hand embroidered silk and saris that I found, and homemade binding all dyed orange using a dylon stir dye. It is lined with a patchwork of old bits of cashmere.
What has inspired you most recently?
Gosh!! That's a tough question. Unfortunately for health reasons I have lost my mobility and I can't drive or travel long distances easily, so I am needing to re-find different sources of inspiration. These are somewhat Catholic in origin, and could be anything from the television to the computer. And off course nature and books inspire me.
It is very prosaic but The Great British Sewing Bee has re-inspired me to sew, as I used to a great deal. Also a friend of mine who lives nearby - Lyn Barlow - makes wonderful slow sewing Quilts and hangings. They were on display recently at East Quay in Watchet alongside work by Grayson Perry.
Eric Sleeping. Film image still - The Man Who Mends Things, Ann Farley
What is your most treasured Textile?
Oooh, I have a lot that I love, but maybe my sofa. It was my parents and was last recovered in a tomato red linen by my Mum in the early sixties. I have repaired it using bits and pieces from a splendid box of old furnishing fabric samples given to me by a good friend. Then I made some appliquéd cushions for it in a painterly style. I have also got some old dining chairs and the seats were originally covered by my Great Grandfather who was a furniture restorer. Those seats fell to pieces so I have made my own tapestry designs for them and over several years have been steadily sewing and replacing them.
Where did you learn your craft?
I was taught to sew, (well, as all girls were in the 60's) at school and at home. I think in that process, and in the process of learning to cook, we learnt how to make something from basic ingredients and we also learnt how to recycle, make-do and mend. As a teenager I made myself a lot of clothes from old curtains, or used old trousers as patterns for new ones. I witnessed people just getting on and doing things and 'having a go' with that real 'can do' mentality.
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Further Information:
Prints from The Man Who Mends Things
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Image Credits:
Lead Image: Eric's Workshop. Film image still - The Man Who Mends Things, Ann Farley
Video and all images courtesy of Ann Farley