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...
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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
2 comments
Beautiful!
What a beautiful, unusual, and wonderfully presented film, not to mention the important message it definitely portrays, Thank you so much, talented woman.