Rachel Scott
Untitled XXVI, 2020
- Medium
- Handwoven sheep's-wool rug
- Dimensions
- 139 x 77 x 1 cm
Joseph Clark Collection · JCC-0027
About the work
Natural variations in sheep’s wool give Untitled XXVI its colour and texture. Angular bands move across the handwoven surface, bringing differences between fleeces into a rhythmic composition. Scott’s work begins with the material qualities of wool and the patient processes of spinning and weaving. Made in 2020, this rug joins practical craft with an attentive exploration of pattern, touch and the character of natural fibres.
About the artist
Rachel Scott is a British artist and weaver whose work grows from the practical and creative life of the home. She studied painting at the Royal College of Art from 1959 to 1964 and became a member of the London Group in 1964. Her early paintings included interiors, passages and staircases, followed by Dorset landscapes; she stopped painting in 1979.
Scott began weaving in 1976 to replace a worn stair carpet. She spins wool directly from British sheep fleeces and leaves it undyed, drawing her palette from their natural differences. Shetland, Manx Loaghtan, Black Welsh Mountain and Herdwick fleeces provide contrasting colours, softness and texture. Straight lines and geometric shapes emerge from the structure of weaving, while subtle shifts between yarns animate the surface.
Her wider practice encompasses knitting, patchwork, clothing, ceramics and furniture coverings, often reusing materials already present in family life. The exhibition Weaving My World at Make Hauser & Wirth in 2022–23 presented this breadth alongside her rugs and early paintings. Scott’s textiles retain their connection to use: she has expressed a preference for rugs being walked on.