Creative textile workshop informed by participatory community embroidery Wild Flowers

Wild Flowers is an experimental textile workshop that allows for creative play with bead and sequin embroidery, where there is no right or wrong way to sew a sequin.
Using memory and intuitive response, Liam guides a process of experimentation with colours, textures and pattern to create a small, embroidered artwork that reflects our relationship with nature.
Participants have the option of contributing their creation to an ongoing collaborative artwork, Wild Flowers which was first created through a Wild Flowers workshop, as part of World Pride and Mardi Gras 2023. The workshop was held at Shoalhaven Regional Gallery, with Queers Down South, an inclusive social group for LGBTQIA+ folks and their allies in the Shoalhaven.

Wild Flowers will continue to grow as a living artwork through the donations of embroidered motifs. The work will remain in the care of artist until donated to a public collection, and will acknowledge each participant that has contributed to the work to reflect the communal development of the artwork.

Liam Benson is a multi-disciplinary artist living and working on Dharug Country, Western Sydney. Incorporating performance, photography, video and textiles, Benson’s practice is informed by working collaboratively with community through an ongoing conversation about how we connect and grow culturally through celebration and creative exchange.

"For me, embroidery is about meditative process. It’s a space where I am able to contemplate and process emotions, knowledge and experience. A time that helps me make sense of the world.
Sequins remind me of night time glamour and costume we wear at times of celebration. The best way to celebrate in the dark, is to play with the available light. Which is exactly what sequins do."

Liam Benson

This workshop is part of the Winter Blooming Festival.

Image: Liam Benson, Dew 2022. Lace, organza, diamantés, glass seed beads, acrylic beads, faux pearls, crystal glass faceted beads, glass bugle beads, cotton, sequins. Photo by Jacquie Manning