Gaelle Chassery
Gaelle Chassery is a sensory artist, creating interactive tactile experiences that reframe the simple joys of the senses as touchstones toward presence, groundedness and healing. Through her miniature sensory spaces, Gaelle invites viewers to recontextualise objects and experiences as chances to reconnect nature and the self.
As a neurodivergent maker living with long-term illness, disabilities and c-PTSD, Gaelle creates art as an anchor for her own experience, as well as an accessible pathway for participation in the world. For her, making is a safe space where she can regulate, process, explore and heal, as well as maintaining connection to her inner and outer environments.
Gaelle hopes that by sharing her interactive creations, she can create healing spaces for others where they can pause, play, and participate in the world around them with embodied presence.
As part of her exploration of environment, Gaelle champions Scottish wool as a naturally soothing material, which provides comfort not only through touch and texture, but through the gentle scent of lanolin, the variety of warm natural shades, and its inherent connection to the wild landscapes of Scotland.
Gaelle's Piece for Forgotten Fleece Tales
Gaelle has created an enchanting "finger walk" - a miniature sensory installation that viewers can interact with via touch, sight, scent and silence. This tactile piece invites viewers to explore the connections between inner and outer landscapes, immersing themselves in a complete experience of comfort and curiosity.
The piece was created from a miscellany of reused, repurposed and rescued materials, including scraps of wool from past crochet projects, waste wool stuffing from North Ronaldsay, and Scottish wool sourced directly from small producers. It maintains a visual focus on the variety of natural colours found in undyed Scottish wool, with flashes of colour provided by yarn from Colonsay, which is dyed using only natural botanicals grown on the island.
The piece is entirely biodegradable, with a small environmental footprint involved in its making. Its materials have a provenance that is both easy and delightful to trace back - a journey mirroring the exploratory "walk" of the piece itself!