Maxxi Minaxi May | Cocoonus Luminosus | 2021 | H170mm x W220mm x D270mm | Wool blend felt, glue and cotton thread | HOLD, Midland Junction Arts Centre, Indian Ocean Craft Triennial (form & basketry) | Private collection

A vibrant cocoon, soft, comforting, and colourful. As in much of May’s practice, this sculptural form is an example of incorporating traditional techniques and remodelling them in a contemporary juxtaposed fashion. Commercial felt, a ubiquitous, manufactured material forms the basis of layered chromatic felt beads. These are woven together using a network of warp and weft threads forming a thick blanket-like fabric that shapes the cushioned vessel. This woven basket could be imagined to be the home of a unique hybrid creature camouflaged within its habitat, the Cocoonus Luminosus.