“seeing you at a distance”
Edwin Devril
21 Mar → 5 May 2026
Window

The top half of the image is a deep red and the bottom half features an embroidered grid that distorts into the background. The word 'softy' is embroidered on top of the grid with faint pencil markings of the words 'softy' and 'men'.
seeing you at a distance, 2025 (in progress detail), Edwin Devril

seeing you at a distance is an experimental, site-responsive work by textile artist Edwin Devril, developed during their residency in thr West Space Studio in 2025.

The work, presented in the West Space Window, continues Devril’s ongoing investigation into the grid as a tool for reference and scale, used to define space, perspective and guide proximity when building an environment. seeing you at a distance forms part of the artist's broader research into intersectionality through craft practices.

"A simple square grid is often used in design to accurately scale and plan works. In European fine arts, the grid was first applied in the 1400s by Italian architect Filippo Brunellesch, to accurately scale an image and create perspective. The use of the vanishing point also implied that there was more to the world than what the artist, and by extension the audience, could see.

In seeing you at a distance, the weave of the fluorescent thread imitates a loose weave used in cloth. Threads depend on one another to create structural integrity. Similarly, when people describe social groups as being “woven together,” they emphasise the intersections and interdependence between individuals, highlighting that without the support of each part, the structure as a whole cannot exist. Here, Devril uses the woven grid in this case to represent the literal and metaphorical application and the variety of ways that it is utilised.

Suspended in the center of the grid is a small mirror, guiding the viewer's eye towards a vanishing point and extending the field of vision. Space transcends beyond the window’s frame, mirroring the viewer and embedding them in the work. They are now a subject, reflecting themselves within systems of space, perception and connection." — Edwin Devril

The West Space Window is supported by the City of Yarra.

Edwin Devril standing with their legs crossed and a hand on a chair whilst looking to the side towards a wall covered in various textile works.

Edwin Devril is a Naarm (Melbourne) based artist working predominantly in textile and mixed media. His work draws on connection to traditional techniques in sewing and crafts, drawing on the shared knowledge passed through the women in his family as well as historical and popular cultural references. Devril has an interest in site responsive works that reframe typical experiences of place, shaping alternative perspectives to the possibilities of craft. Their work touches on a number of topics including class, identity and connection interpreted through an experimental approach to the use of textiles.