Stay tuned for further updates and additions to this website, including more information about Rebecca Harris’s work. In the meantime, feel free to explore this temporary page.
Rebecca D. Harris and Stitching Science
Rebecca Harris is an Edinburgh-based artist, researcher and collaborator:
I use textiles and technology, to unveil the human body and it’s lived condition. I mainly create evocative and tactile sculptures, installations and embroideries that stitch art and science together. Inviting audiences to physically experience and empathise with the artwork, my work aims to be educational and thought-provoking. I am particularly interested in engaging audiences in science and technology through accessible art.
Want to work together?
Artist
You could be an artist interested in exploring a theme you think Rebecca’s approach could add value in a collaborative approach.
Gallery
Make an enquiry about exhibiting existing artworks for your upcoming exhibition/s or commission a new artwork.
Scientist
Are you a scientist/rersearcher looking for an artist to work with on public engagement in your research area?
Research
Aside from her artistic pursuits, Rebecca also shares her insights on her arts-based research through writing. Her works have been published and her insights are widely respected in a multidisciplinary field, having presented her research at esteemed institutions like Oxford University.
Commissions
Rebecca’s successful completion of a permanent public commission by both the Wellcome Trust and the Eden Project has opened the doors to further opportunities, both in the public and private sectors. Which also led to the opportunity to be part of a BBC World Service documentary.
Education
Rebecca’s background as a teacher, covering a wide range of educational settings and age groups, has equipped her with the skills necessary to provide high-quality educational experiences. She is able to engage and educate her audience, on a variety of topics.
Symbiosis
A Wellcome Trust and Eden Project human microbiome commission.
Symbiosis, a life-size embroidery of a pregnant woman depicting her body colonized by microbes, is on permanent display at the renowned Eden Project in Cornwall, UK as part of their Invisible Worlds exhibition. Funded by the Wellcome Trust, the colorful hand-embroidered French knots showcase the diversity of the single-cell organisms that outnumber our own human cells 10 to 1 by adulthood, compared to being microbe-free before birth.
The Skin as Repository
The materiality of fat female skin through textiles
I explore the physical changes that occur in the skin as a result of weight gain and loss. Through my work, I bring attention to the stretch marks and scars that are often seen as blemishes, but serve as powerful indicators of these transformative experiences. By drawing on analogies between skin and cloth, both functioning as surface and concealment, I create embroideries that disembody the body’s historical marks and give them a new form and meaning.