‘Single Use’ 2019. Polythene sheeting, acetate, invisible thread.

This piece was conceived in response to the plastic pollution crisis and Rosie’s concerns about fast fashion and the growing mountain of clothing entering landfill sites.

She encountered ocean plastic pollution first hand in 2011 whilst visiting Santa Maria, an Azorean island in the Atlantic. On a coastal walk she came across a cove that was completely covered in pieces of plastic of all shapes and sizes. Her feelings of deep concern have grown the more she has read about the pollution crisis and its impact on wildlife.

 ‘Single Use’ was suspended like a plastic bag floating in water and Rosie hoped its presence and scale would allow others to reflect on how we all use plastic and clothing in our lives and so will hopefully strive for more sustainable decisions when purchasing clothing and single use items. 

 It was shown alongside the Thread: Contemporary Textiles Exhibition showing in the Rheged Centre Gallery at the time.

The degree show was an accumulation of a year of intense experimentation and discovery. Rosie explored all kinds of unconventional media, such as plants, mould, cement, and household paints - all relating back to an initial interest in dereliction and nature reclaiming civilisation. At the beginning of the Masters, Rosie lost her oldest brother after his being in a coma for 14 years following an accident. As the oldest brother of the 12 siblings, his passing had enormous impact on the family and also on the work produced by Rosie in the year following. This installation is about loss, about the familiar becoming unfamiliar, sibling relationships, and trying to grow again from a dark place. The distorted cement dress is a symbol of the shock of bereavement and trying to understand the impact of death. Rosie also lost her aunt in the same year and was honoured to be with her at her passing. The way a body can so quickly become an empty vessel when the person departs impacted on this piece.

‘Good Intentions’ 2018 Shoes, Cement, plastic sheet, cotton sheet, duct tape.

As part of her solo show at the Vallum Gallery at University of Cumbria, Rosie created this installation with odd shoes. The actual shoes had been donated to a refugee charity but were completely useless and only fit for landfill. Rosie received a grant from GSA Sustainability at Glasgow School of Art, to pick up the shoes from Telford and avoid them going into landfill. The title relates to the way people want to help others but often don’t know how, especially in light of the Syrian refugee crisis. Rosie invited Carlisle Refugee Action Group to put up an information board next to the piece explaining the work they do helping refugees in Calais. The gold duct tape represents a line of resistance in first world countries to let these people in.

This installation which highlights British responses to the plight of Refugees, offering useless help and being able to keep the crisis at a distance through TV and computer screens while treating the border to our own country as a means to block others from compassion. The use of shoes echoes historic crimes against humanity such as the holocaust and give a humanity to the individuals caught up in the crisis.