Fashion Illustration Printmaking Screen Print Solo artist

Esther Rigg | The Eye Has To Travel

posted by Alice Harrison July 21, 2016

Esther Rigg’s graphic aesthetic is continuously informed by both her undeniable talent regarding textile design and the relationship between traditional and digital techniques. Her vivid prints entertain the combining of screen-printing with digital methods from inkjet printing to multi-head embroidery and laser cutting, resulting in the complex prints which beautifully inject inspiration from unintentional pattern created by nature, architecture and the built environment.

Previously receiving a First Class Honours in Fashion, Rigg has now progressed into currently studying MA Textile Design Innovation at Nottingham Trent University, where she has been awarded a Paul Smith Scholarship, including a 6-week study trip to Japan which enabled her the chance to subject herself to both mental and physical inspirations for her latest project. As a result The Eye Has To Travel strikingly provides an exploration of visual contrasts manifesting within everyday Japan, focusing on and embodying the repetition and pattern, geometric and organic elements discovered throughout both the rural and urban landscape.

The digitally crafted textiles emerge from mixed media drawings and collages, dominated by shades of red, blue and complimentary hue while techniques such as inkjet printing, laser cutting and bonding are infused to create the tactile patterned prints.

As well as predominantly working with screen printing, Esther Rigg also delves into the world of knitwear, experimenting using both domestic machines and hand-knitting, which she then further combines with her printed textile aesthetic, emphasising the innovation embedded within her work, later presented through a six-piece collection presented at Graduate Fashion Week in 2014.