For it to be required, darning depends on damage. It is this aspect of repair which fascinates artist Celia Pym who has taken darning and mending into new realms of conceptualisation and visibility. "Her interests concern the evidence of damage, and how repair draws attention to the places where garments and cloth wear down and grow thin. In clothing, this is often to do with use and how the body moves." By making the darning visible, Pym allows the garments she mends tell the stories of their owners. The repair work on Darned Fingertips (2016) reveals the unique way in which the wearer of this pair of Japanese gardening gloves has used them. 

Celia Pym runs thoughtful, practical workshops at West Dean College and Raystitch, and can be heard talking about her work on the excellent Material Matters podcast.