For textile and mixed media artist Nicky Ilsley, the past three years have been a journey of dedication and creative evolution. Now, that journey has culminated in a powerful solo exhibition, The Canary & the Parrot, currently showing at the Rose Paterson Gallery at Weston Park, Staffordshire.
Based in Worthing on the south-east coast of the UK, Nicky is well known by the Take Two community as one of our student ambassadors. Nicky’s role as an ambassador has allowed her to learn from and work alongside exceptional artists, growing her own 'toolbox' of techniques and strengthening her creative voice. These influences echo through the exhibition.
With great excitement, she now invites audiences to experience a body of work three years in the making.
At her core, Nicky is a storyteller. Her latest collection uses textiles, mixed media and found objects to explore the coal mining industry and its profound human and environmental impact.
Coal mining, with its harsh conditions, hazards and generational stories, has proven to be a rich and stirring source of material. Through re-purposed fabrics, hand-worked details and thoughtfully assembled elements, Nicky brings these stories into the light with emotional depth.
Years of learning, refining and growing – supported, she says, by the extraordinary tutors and courses within the Take Two community – have enabled her to push her craftsmanship further than ever before. This foundation of knowledge has empowered her to confidently fill a large gallery space with 37 evocative works she is deeply proud of.
Weston Park, a stately home with a long and complex history, provides a compelling backdrop for Nicky’s work. Much of the family’s wealth was historically tied to mineral extraction and coal mining in the region and beyond. To display artworks that interrogate the hardships, losses and realities of that very industry within these storied walls adds a poignant layer of meaning.
Visitors have noted this resonance, and the exhibition has sparked conversations about heritage, labour and the lives shaped by underground work.
Among the works on display are three hanging sacks, inspired by the hessian bags once used to deliver coal to homes and businesses. With coal mining now ceased in the UK, these sacks stand empty. Relics of a vanished trade. For many visitors, they evoke memories of childhood coal bunkers tucked at the end of the garden.
Nicky constructed the sacks using old jute coffee bags, repairing and patching them with fabric painted in earth pigments. This collage-style mending mirrors the way everyday objects were once darned, patched and treasured to extend their life. In contrast to today’s throwaway culture, these pieces honour the skills and resourcefulness of past generations.
The exhibition’s title work draws a striking comparison between two birds:
· A parrot, gifted to the family at Weston Park by then-Prime Minister Disraeli, living a life of luxury in the orangery.
· A canary, taken underground to detect dangerous gases and keep miners alive.
This juxtaposition, privilege above ground, survival below, sits at the heart of the narrative.
The Canary & the Parrot is on display every day from 11am–4pm until Wednesday 3 December 2025 at the Rose Paterson Gallery, Weston Park. Entry is free.
If you are in the region – or can make the journey – Nicky warmly encourages you to visit and experience the stories stitched into this powerful body of work.