Cloth, formed through the interlacing of weft and warp, is central to the practice of Christchurch textile artist Jane McGowan. For Jane, fabric mirrors the complex weaving of personal experience, culture, and society itself. Threads connect, layer, draw together, and repair, each one carrying memories, shared experiences, and emotions that reflect lived life.

In Jane’s process, ideas and emotions move through her hands and into the cloth. She begins each work using two inks on calico, drawn to the material’s simplicity and adaptability. Working with a restrained hand allows her to maintain control while creating areas of both subtle and dramatic contrast. She spends time sitting with her works, considering how minimal mark-making with needle and thread can generate space and compositional balance.

While negotiating her own meticulous perfectionism, Jane seeks to embrace what unfolds in the moment. Guided by intuition, she makes gentle interventions into the inked fabric, allowing the work to evolve organically.

Jane completed a Bachelor of Design (Applied Visual Arts) at ARA Institute of Canterbury between 2017 and 2019, an education that underpins her thoughtful, process-driven approach to textile practice