Maggie Scott

A free exhibition showcasing Hastings-based artist Maggie Scott and her textile series, Five Times More.

Maggie Scott’s work is shaped by lived experience: as a Black British woman, an activist, and as a mother.

This series, Five Times More, centres on the relationship between mother and child, drawing together personal reflections on motherhood and shared histories of pregnancy, childbirth and care.

Scott combines tapestry with digital imagery, transferring photographs onto silk before introducing colour through nuno felting – a process in which fine merino fibres are pushed directly into the fabric. The surface of each piece is built slowly, through repeated handling and pressure.

Much like the themes explored in this series of works, the production process is both laborious and tender, echoing the dual realities of childbirth itself. By working with fibre, Scott reclaims a medium historically marginalised as craft within the space of contemporary fine art, using it as a means of critical expression.

While birth is a universal human experience, it is not an equal one; although maternal mortality rates in Britain have fallen since the eighteenth century, structural inequalities remain. Research published by MBRACE UK in 2019 shows that Black women in the UK are five times more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth than white women – a statistic that gives the exhibition its title and underscores its urgency.

Sussex Spotlight is a new series which celebrates the vibrant creativity of local artists and the rich cultural landscape of our region. Hosted in our public galleries, the initiative provides a platform for both emerging and established talent.

Sussex Spotlight programme supported by David and Sarah Kowitz.

Image: Maggie Scott, Five Times More, 2021. Photo John Cole.