Jane Walkley is a UK based Contemporary Tapestry Weaver.
Jane exhibits at a national level and is a member of PRISM Textiles and an elected committee member of the British Tapestry Group. She studied for BA (Hons) Crafts specialising in ceramics and woven textiles at Manchester Metropolitan University (1993) and has an MA in Creative Practice from Leeds Arts University (2019).
Jane’s artistic practice considers how the regeneration of industrial landscapes in the North of England invokes memory and attachment within communities. Jane questions whether site-specific interactions can help to bridge the gap between memory and place in the absence of the workplace activities that took place in these re-purposed buildings. This allows connections to be made with the past keeping memories and the attachment we feel towards these places alive.
Jane takes clay impressions from the sites she documents to create moulds in which to cast jesmonite. Once cured and set these small jesmonite units are woven piece by piece on an upright loom. This approach enables Jane to explore traditional woven techniques whilst incorporating new material technology. The finished work takes on a sculptural quality that maintains a physical and visual connection to the site, linking place, memory and materiality.
Jane teaches from her studio at Sunny Bank Mills and delivers workshops and talks on request.
