SELBY HURST INGLEFIELD AT THE KNITTING & STITCHING SHOW
Selby Hurst Inglefield is a UK textile artist who uses the technique of rug punching. Her exhibition, The Cat’s Cradle, is at The Knitting & Stitching Show 2023 at Alexandra Palace, London from 5 – 8 October 2023.
Selby, domesticity is a prevalent theme throughout your exhibition. What is it that drew you to create work around this particular area of life and how have your own experiences of domesticity influenced your art career so far?
I’ve always been interested in the concept of home and safety and what that means to myself as an artist and also to the viewer. I have a strong sentimentality to objects and how different objects make me feel, often feeling sorry for objects or wanting to protect or care for them. I think there's a longing of wanting to create a level of safety and comfort in my work that I try to embody through the soft textures and textiles within my practice. I’ve always also been interested in the mundane, I think this links back to wanting to care for things that don’t have a loud voice. I have a strong interest in ‘protecting’ things that could be forgotten. My work is often really time consuming also so I think the time I spend with each piece really helps add that element of care to each piece.
Your series of cat chairs consider the interplay between objects and art and how they can transform a home’s atmosphere. In what way do you feel the use of rug punching supports this exploration?
The softness really helps embody the interplay for me. People are always delighted when I invite them to sit on one of my chairs, or to physically connect with the pieces. You can interact with the chairs in a different way, there's a familiarity to the object with it being a chair, something that people can ‘understand’ as an object and artwork. I enjoy creating this link between the two worlds. The rug punching takes me a long time as I don’t use an electric machine. I think the time I spend on each piece also adds another level of care for my pieces, I get to nurture them from the beginning to end. 
Image: Selby Hurst Inglefield, Still in time, 2021, 75x65cm, wool on hessian. Image above: Selby Hurst Inglefield, In-between-selves, 2020, 250x150cm, wool, acrylic, beads, straw, buttons on hessian.
Animal symbolism is recurrent throughout your work, each representing either yourself, a loved one or an experience. What do the cats represent in The Cat’s Cradle and how does this fit into the transmutable relationship between reality and fantasy that your art so deftly explores?
The cats for me are my ‘home’. They bring me so much joy and comfort, they are how I envision a domestic space. I’ve always had cats, and a lot of my family members and close friends have had also. I think the cats for me almost represent this interest I have in the mundane, they’re (most of the time) not the loudest voice or the most present being, but they are always there, rooted onto a comfy chair or there to silently comfort you after a hard day. I enjoy the silent communication you can have with a cat, how you know instinctively what each other is feeling. It’s another reason why I feel they fit so well being linked to a chair, it’s that instant comfort you can get in moments. I could talk about cats and what they mean to me forever but I’ll try not to go on too much or I’ll become even more of a crazy cat lady than I already am! I think in all aspects of my practice, in short, I'm really interested in this unspoken communication I receive by either objects, animals or my surroundings.
You have spoken before about how your work is centered around process - often starting with a written idea that develops into a sketch before coming to life via tapestry. Where do you find inspiration for your initial ideas and is there anything you consciously do to create space for inspiration to arrive?
I find inspiration from everything, of course one of my main being artists. I’m constantly looking at art or artists in galleries, or Instagram or on Pinterest. I’m such a visual person, I just love being drawn to things that inspire me. If I’m honest I just LOVE looking at things. But off my screen I really get inspiration from memories or from nature. I’m a really visual person and people always get frustrated with me as I walk super slow because I’m staring at things all the time. As you mentioned, a lot of the time I write poems and stories. Often it starts from just in my head instead of the page, I’ll be walking somewhere and I’d love the look of a tree, or see a bird and something in my head just starts linking it to things and talking. Sometimes I even just hear two words I like together and it can make something up. I’ve got dyslexia so I’ve always been really shy showing my writing and even sometimes talking so I think ‘writing’ these poems in my head is a nice way of not worrying, not a wriggly red line comes up when I get something wrong, it’s more organic and carefree. 
Image: Selby Hurst Inglefield, The cat with no name, 2022, 91x70cm, Wool on hessian.
The medium of rug punching creates a physical sense of comfort through the soft textures - why did you choose this medium in particular and are there any other textile artists past or present that have inspired you in this particular field?
I love the feeling of different textures, I get really strong emotions when I feel different things, even if they feel bad or weird. Much like most people (I assume ), my favoUrite feelings are soft ones. I feel really calm when I’m surrounded by soft things and unaggressive materials. However I do love all textures. I think why I love this medium so much is the long process, it gives me so much time with a piece which I really enjoy.
I have lots of favourite textiles/fabric based/mixed media artists: just to name a few, Faith Ringold, Delphine Denereaz, Vicki Stone, Hannah Epstein, Ruth Faulkner, Bobby Heffernan, Patrick Sutton, Eva Dixon, Alice Kettle, Alvaro Barrington, Judith Scott, Yinka Shonibare.
The Knitting & Stitching Show is on from 5-8 October 2023. Find out more:
www.theknittingandstitchingshow.com
@theknittingandstitchingshows
Book your tickets HERE.
Find out more:
www.selbyhi.com