Through wearables and sculpture, Rachael Colley aims to challenge our collective connections with food and communicate aspects of her lived experience with the autoimmune disease systemic sclerosis (SSc). By exploring materials and sustainable design approaches, she reappropriates traditional leatherworking processes and applies them to organic food waste, referencing the internal hardening of skin and connective tissues caused by SSc.
Rachael is a member of Heritage Crafts Association and received their award for innovation in environmental sustainability in 2024. As recipient of The Art House’s Crafting the Future residency, she intends to spend her time in Wakefield researching critically endangered crafts and sustainable paper making, exploring natural dying practices and pigment-making using organic materials from our Urban Gardens.
Find out more about the artist.
Images courtesy of Rachael Colley, Assistive Objects, 2025. Photographer Chelsea Abbott.