About the talks

Sara Trillo will present a series of recent works inspired by dene holes (ancient chalk mines found throughout south east England), and the themes of positive extraction, sympathetic making, and regenerative planting that are contained within her sculptural, textile and artefact-based works. 

Flora Parrott will present a series of recent projects that explore ideas of porosity, edges and perimeters, and the imaginative possibilities of the close-by, of worlds found in the cracks between the pavement or in the inside of your pocket. 

Following the talks, Flora and Sara will hold a conversation about their individual approaches to ‘fieldwork’, an active process of artistic research that places the artist in and amongst a shifting and interrelated landscape, whilst drawing out threads shared between each of their work. The artist’s discussion will also examine the sensorial cross-over within their work, and the specific framework for materials which they set within their respective practices.

About the speakers

Flora Parrott is an artist based in Kent working in sculpture, print and textiles. Flora trained in Printmaking at both The Glasgow School of Art and The Royal College of Art. Her work explores interior landscapes of the body, thinking through unseen workings and sensations that occur under the skin. The work, often taking the form of tableau or 3-dimensional collage, uses natural forms and everyday objects and experiences to reimagine the mysteries of blurry ultrasound images, the insides of deep, dark pockets and the points at which inside meets outside. 

Flora is an Associate Lecturer in Print at the Royal College of Art and a post-doctoral researcher on the ERC funded project Think Deep based in the Geography Department at Royal Holloway University London. Recent exhibitions include ‘Hollow Earth’ with Hayward Touring and ‘Darkness Retreat’ commissioned by Legion Projects.

Sara Trillo is a visual artist based in East Kent, with a studio in Margate. She was born in Ramsgate and has spent much of her life in Kent, developing a large archive of research about the history and mythologies of her native county. Sara explores landscapes through research, walking, and making, seeking to uncover hidden histories of the human presence within our shared ecological environment. Much of her recent work has been focussed on the Kent Downs landscape, with a particular interest in dene holes, deep shafts dug into chalk, of uncertain age and purpose. 

Sara studied Fine Art at Norwich University of the Arts and in 2017 became an Associate of Open School East in Margate. She has exhibited widely in the UK and northern Europe, as well as undertaking funded residencies in diverse locations including France, Germany, Cyprus and Turkey.