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Bird threading pine needles through a leaf to shelter its nest 

Ikebana is the ancient Japanese art of flower arranging.

“The art of ikebana is to listen to the spirits of flowers and plants. It is how to make the voice or sentiment of the flower a visual combination with your feelings. Ikebana allows the heart of the arranger to touch the heart of the viewer.”

Artist Celia Pym

Working with garments that belong to individuals as well as items in museum archives, [Pym] has extensive experience with the spectrum and stories of damage, from small moth holes to larger accidents with fire.

Her interests concern the evidence of damage, and how repair draws attention to the places where garments and cloth wear down and grow thin. In clothing, this is often to do with use and how the body moves.

She explores the difficulties of mending other people’s clothes, the materials used for mending, and making damage visible. Pym’s tools are scissors, yarn and a sharp needle.