Zoe Hirson

“For me London’s streets are paved in gold
– my kind – discarded wood and metal.
When I had a studio in Cockpit Arts
I found my first beautiful floorboard in a skip
And I knew I wanted to decorate it.
With my found metal.
I did not want to use glue so I sewed because that felt more authentic.

I was brought up in South Africa.
That continent
has formed what I love making and my colour palette.

In England I was trained to draw by two South African painters;
Ruth Leibman and Cecily Sash.
I went on to get a First Class BA Honours in Fine Art Printmaking at Manchester Metropolitan University.
It was after my degree that I discovered my love for sewing (paper)
And my preference for printing blocks over the prints I made.
Woodcuts and calligraphs changed everything for me.
After my degree, without printing facilities, my focus was on sewing.

Finally I have found a way to translate what I see in the wood I love.
Aiming for an essence.
A universal figure
A humanity we share.

Most of what I work with would be in landfills if I didn’t rescue it.
I love that the pieces I work with have already been marked by time.
So they come to me with their own stories
Which I seek to draw out.”