Woven voices: The Bodmin Dress – Rebecca Wood & Elaine Foster-Gandey
28 February @ 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Woven Voices: The Bodmin Dress is a community-led textile artwork created by Bodmin-based artist Rebecca Wood, supported by mentor Elaine Foster-Gandey.
The project explores ideas of transformation – of people, places, and memories – by weaving together personal stories with the social history of Bodmin.
Working with local groups including Knit & Natter, Then & Now social history group, and café-based drop-in sessions at IntoBodmin, Rebecca invites residents to share words, memories, drawings, and small objects that reflect their experience of Bodmin past and present. These contributions are stitched, transferred, and assembled into a single dress: a powerful symbol of both individual and collective change.
The bodice reflects Rebecca’s own journey of transformation, while the voluminous skirt holds the voices of the wider community. The finished garment will be installed in the Cornwall Air Ambulance charity shop window during Flamm and activated through a gentle performance along Bodmin High Street, inviting locals and visitors to pause, reflect, and connect.
Practicalities: The site is wheelchair accessible. The garment is visible from Fore Street without the shop needing to be open.
About the Artist
Rebecca Wood is a contemporary artist whose practice is rooted in self-expression, creativity and community engagement. Working across art, journaling and intuitive creative processes, her work is informed by her experience as a neurodivergent artist and her belief in living unapologetically. Alongside her role as a mother of two, Wood’s practice is sustained by themes of self-care, mindfulness and personal freedom, drawing inspiration from clean living, wild swimming and meditative practices. Her work advocates for authenticity, wellbeing and creative confidence, encouraging others to embrace their full selves – from inner voice to outward expression.
