Barely Wearable is a continuation of Ruth Downes’ passion for reappropriating everyday materials and objects to celebrate their intrinsic beauty.

Materials for these thirty ‘wearable’ artworks have been gleaned from a diverse range of sources – from aircraft headsets to coffee capsules. Detritus from nature has also been salvaged to be re-born as a fashion statement.

This is more than a simple ‘up-cycling’ exercise as Downes uses her trademark humour and acute awareness of the potential of the materials to lead us to question our accepted values and how we award status.

By projecting these everyday materials into the realm of art, the works have a preciousness that confounds our expectations despite their humble origins.

Read the exhibition e-catalogue here