Jude Hughes

As a designer inspired by interesting scenes found in the everyday, this project explores visual contrasts within our daily environment as a tool for visual narrative. Through a personal lens, I have analysed scenes with strong contrasting elements of bright and dull, ragged and delicate, harsh and soft, messy and serene to narrate the impact of trauma and how it can affect daily life.

Reflecting on personal experience of trauma in my younger years and acknowledging the impact this had in the years that followed, I am exploring the joy, hope and determination that often coexists with the grief, emptiness, and despair in the healing journey. I have taken inspiration from the colour, structure and composition found within my imagery to create interpretational knitted panels.

Colour remains a central focus throughout my practice and I have drawn on colour theory to convey feeling, using Aaron Fine’s ‘Colour Theory’ book to explore the emotional practice that connects colour and people. I have also used slow processes such as intarsia, e-wrap and beading, highlighting the importance of slow making as a way of understanding the mind, which is reflected in Richard Sennet’s ‘The Craftsman’.

The final collection of work promotes conversation around the long-term effects of trauma and the non-linear nature of healing. For my 14-year-old self and all those who have ever felt stuck in a very dark place, there is brightness to be found, sometimes in the places you least expect.