River as Witness: Traces from the River Lea investigates the Hackney stretch of the River Lea as a site shaped by industrial intervention, engineered waterways, and uneven ecological relations. Approaching the river as both material body and historical record. Japanese knotweed—an invasive plant associated with disturbed ground following canalisation—functions as a guiding material and metaphor within this inquiry.

The work is developed through field research along the riverbank, combining plant gathering, observation, and site study with historical and ecological research. A layered textile process translates these encounters into material form: cotton is dyed with pigment extracted from knotweed, printed with other riverbank plants, and stained using rust-infused water. Repeated transfers on both sides of the cloth create an accumulating surface that echoes sedimentation and the layering of environmental change.

The final installation brings together a large hanging textile, suspended knotweed stalks, a vessel containing river water, and gathered plant debris. Arranged spatially, these elements form a quiet environment in which materials from the river’s edge remain present as traces. Rather than representing the river directly, the work allows its physical substances to shape the piece, foregrounding how landscapes record intervention through gradual, material processes.