Kaye J Bonnar is a Scottish artist and maker, based in South East London. Kaye’s practice is formed by using the craft of basketry as a vessel for her artistic expression. This is done through intuitive making, ritualistic processes, and expressive material and colour choices. Kaye’s interest in basketry stemmed from a found photograph of her nana weaving a basket, discovering her ancestry in self taught craft and an innate need to make with the hands.
Kaye’s work is predominantly made from found materials, including discarded rope, plastic bags, string, tissue paper, fabric scraps and marram grass. Kaye draws attention to the beauty in the mundane and everyday materials in order to give them meaning through another purpose. Challenging the hierarchy of materials and elitism of the art world, Kaye highlights the importance of the self taught craft and undervalued materials.
Kaye Bonnar
Basketry
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Process
Through her work Kaye aims to challenge the stereotypical connection of craft and womanhood to this idea of domesticity and how it seems that somehow if a woman is making basketry it is expected. By approaching and placing her work in the gallery context, where her basketry pieces can be appreciated as art, Kaye aims to challenge these gendered and outdated stereotypes.
