Pedal-powered artist stitches Pavilion portrait

2 hours ago

Patrick BarlowSouth East

News image — Harriet Riddell (right) is sewing a portrait of Brighton's Royal Pavilion with a pedal-powered machine driven by members of the public

Brighton and Hove Museums Two women sat in front of Brighton's Royal Pavilion. One is sat at a sewing machine and is working on a piece of art. The other is sat on a bike. Both are looking behind them towards the camera and are smiling. — Harriet Riddell (right) is sewing a portrait of Brighton's Royal Pavilion with a pedal-powered machine driven by members of the public

A pedal-powered artist who uses a bicycle to help sew her work says she wants to "get the Brighton personality" into her latest piece of the Royal Pavilion.

Harriet Riddell, 36, uses a sewing machine powered by a bicycle ridden by members of the public to sew pictures of people and places across the world.

She began her latest work in the Pavilion Gardens on Wednesday and will continue on Thursday, adding that it was "quite a privilege" to be able to stitch the building.

Riddell, who lives in Fair Oak in Hampshire, said: "I really like the collaboration between me and the riders."

The artist added: "People chat to me while I'm working. I hear stories, and I love that as I work.

"The Pavilion is so beautiful. It's quite a privilege to be here stitching it. I want to get the Brighton personality in there."

Riddell, originally from Oxfordshire, said that she took up sewing as an artform through life-drawing work at university.

After honing her craft stitching in cafes and pubs, she began to power her machine using motorcycle batteries, allow her to travel and work in India and elsewhere in the world.

'Bring people together'

In 2016, Riddell transitioned to using a bike to power the machine, which she said allowed her to connect with people on the street who ride the bike, which generates electricity for the sewing machine.

She documents her sewing projects on social media, with a following of more than 220,000 people on Instagram.

She added that she would do as much of the work as possible while in Brighton, before completing the project at her studio in Eastleigh.

Hedley Swain, chief executive of Brighton and Hove Museums, said: "The Royal Pavilion Garden has always been a vibrant space for creative encounters, and hosting Harriet's unique live-stitching project is a wonderful way to bring people together."

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