NICOLA DONOVAN

I am a professional observer. To me, what people do, how we do it and why we do it is a constant source of wonder, intrigue - and horror. My work is the result of years of watching, surmising, cogitating, debating, sometimes reaching conclusions, and often making judgements. I try to understand what we do and have done by seeking context, this might be historical, cultural, social, political or all of the above. I use many traditional methods in the making of my work and refer to the language of textiles, clothing and dress to create intricate and labour intensive objects. "Dynasty" brings together ideas of social hierarchy as illustrated by chess pieces and inverts them by re positioning the humble sheep as socially superior, i.e. Royal. Sheep are usually perceived as stupid, smelly, tasty,