Tamlin Blake

Thread Artist

Tamlin Blake is a South African mixed media artist, deeply interested in what constitutes and underpins each individual’s sense of belonging and identity, especially in a country that constantly asks us to question our cultural links. Her current work explores the making of memories and identity through inherited heirlooms, treasured objects as well as the spaces once revered by lost friends or family.

A prominent aspect of Blake’s work is her fascination with materials and manipulating new mediums in ways which take them past the merely decorative or prosaic. She was instrumental in developing beading techniques which are now used by various South African artists with the help of the beading studio Qaqambile in Cape Town. Her own recent work consists of tapestries, woven from re-cycled hand-spun newspaper. She also works closely with the Spier Artisans Studio to create finely manufactured mosaics.