Born in 1995 in Birmingham, England, Molly Kent lives and works in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Through the traditional medium of rug tufting, Kent reflects on her doubts as a young individual living in an internet-driven digital world consumed by both technology and epidemics. Moving beyond the craft that traditionally bears a domestic and ornamental quality, Kent creates objects that awaken our senses and challenge our perception while alluding to the struggles one can have with mental health. Her rugs often take on organic shapes, while her colors and patterns are intrinsically inherent to the aesthetics of glitch art. Inspired by unexpected blasts of pixelated jagged lines that sometimes appear on digital screens, she applies these visual glitches to her weaves. The sense of discomfort that she intentionally creates is sometimes reinforced by her use of disruptive and ambiguous words, delicately interwoven in the fiber. The softness and malleability of her objects come to act as a cushion to the doubts and emotional fatigue that have taken over herself and her generation.

Molly Kent

Gouache on paper 
2021
Contained is part of Kent's newest series of drawings, inspired by her anxiety fuelled dreams and nightmares. The artist deep dives into feelings of loss, anxiety, and trauma, which stems from her experiences with CPTSD. The work depicts the silhouetted frame of a window as a raging fire burns outside, alluding to feelings of being trapped both physically and emotionally. In the distance, a night sky with stars twinkles gently. Despite what can sometimes feel like a lonely situation, Kent alludes to the outside world that she perceives filled with hope.

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With a certificate of authenticity signed by the Artist.

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Contained

Gouache on paper 
2021
Surrounded II is part of Kent's newest series of drawings, inspired by her anxiety fuelled dreams and nightmares. The artist deep dives into feelings of loss, anxiety, and trauma, which stems from her experiences with CPTSD. The work depicts the silhouetted frame of a window as a raging fire burns outside, alluding to feelings of being trapped both physically and emotionally. In the distance, a night sky with stars twinkles gently. Despite what can sometimes feel like a lonely situation, Kent alludes to the outside world that she perceives filled with hope.

Surrounded II

Gouache on paper 
2021
You Burn, We Burn is part of Kent's newest series of drawings, inspired by her anxiety fuelled dreams and nightmares. The artist deep dives into feelings of loss, anxiety, and trauma, which stems from her experiences with CPTSD. The work depicts the silhouetted frame of a window as a raging fire burns outside, alluding to feelings of being trapped both physically and emotionally. In the distance, a night sky with stars twinkles gently. Despite what can sometimes feel like a lonely situation, Kent alludes to the outside world that she perceives filled with hope.

You Burn, We Burn

Gouache on paper 
2021
Surrounded is part of Kent's newest series of drawings, inspired by her anxiety fuelled dreams and nightmares. The artist deep dives into feelings of loss, anxiety, and trauma, which stems from her experiences with CPTSD. The work depicts the silhouetted frame of a window as a raging fire burns outside, alluding to feelings of being trapped both physically and emotionally. In the distance, a night sky with stars twinkles gently. Despite what can sometimes feel like a lonely situation, Kent alludes to the outside world that she perceives filled with hope.

Wall

Surrounded

Mixed Fibre, Polyester Fabric and Latex Glue 
2021
Evaporating Psyche is the first work in Kent's new series 'Dream Weaving', which reflects on feelings of loss, anxiety, trauma and stems from the artist's experiences with CPTSD. Many images created in this series come from Kent's dreams and nightmares. Evaporating Psyche examines the artist's relationship with her sense of self, and the idea of having lost part of herself as a result of her mental health condition, which was heightened with the recent pandemic.

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EvaporatingPsycheFull (1)

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Evaporating Psyche

Wool, Acrylic and Cotton 
2022
'Surrounded II' explores the idea of being trapped within ones own mind, as a result of ill mental health. This work is part of a small series looking at this topic of being trapped, in relation to different boundaries. 'Surrounded II' represents being trapped behind a locked door, with no means of escape, we peer through the lock hole to find that the fire of our thoughts is creeping closer, threatening to torch the vessel of our mind. Beyond the fire, the stars continue to shine in the sky, a nod to better days laying beyond the turbulent fires.

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6&#215;8 vertical

Wool, Acrylic and Cotton 
2021
Tightening Gyre, from the 'Dream Weaving' series represents a new method of working for the artist and is her second completed weaving. The work depicts an unidentified body - perhaps that of the artist - falling into the eye of a storm, through a tornado as lightning cracks around her. The work explores the feeling of falling without control, unable to right oneself in the correct direction, and the feeling of turbulence within both mind and body. Reflecting on Kent's mental health condition, this work was made during the pandemic.

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Tightening Gyre

Mixed Fibre, Polyester Fabric and Latex Glue 
2022
'Intimacy' is a nod to the difficulties that sufferers of CPTSD have with intimacy and maintaining of relationships. Two hands, joined, to represent connection are modelled off from the artist and her partner's own hands. Fire rages between them, in both a positive, yet also negative way. Fighting through the fires, a signifier of intrusive thoughts and trauma related struggles, we fight to retain that connection, to maintain that fire of intimacy.

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Intimacy

Mixed Fibre, Polyester Fabric and Latex Glue 
2021
Untitled is part of Kent's newest series 'Dream Weaving,' created during the pandemic and reflecting on the artist's heightened mental health condition and experiences with CPTSD. Inspired by Kent's anxious dreams and nightmares, this work translates her mental state into a pictorial narrative, by alluding to her feelings of loss, anxiety and trauma. The flames represent her state of being, craddled, but somewhat out of control, almost too large to be contained.

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Molly Kent

Also by Molly Kent

Contained

Surrounded II

You Burn, We Burn

Surrounded

Evaporating Psyche

Tightening Gyre

Intimacy

Untitled

Surrounded II