The Edge of Forever, borrows its title from American astronomer, Carl Sagan’s book Cosmos, this latest series builds upon and reflects on the infinite possibilities of process—an exploration of pattern, time, and the physical and conceptual interplay of space. Through meticulous making, Richard investigates repetition and the delicate balance between sameness and difference. His work maps space and visually embodies the passage of time, fostering dialogues between structure, movement, and materiality.

Inspired by Frank Stella’s Black Stripe paintings and his search for what to paint, Richard uses the patterns and geometric forms generated through the permutations of his Shoben tape studies. Like Stella, whose Black Stripe paintings explored the tension between constraint and expression, Richard engages with structured frameworks to push the boundaries of his practice. Stella’s pursuit of what to paint mirrors Richard’s own ongoing inquiry into what to draw, stitch, and shape within the grid. By manipulating the tape through repeated and reconfigured lines, he generates geometric variations that serve as blueprints for his intricate stitched compositions. This process allows for controlled randomness—each shift in the tape creating new pathways, disruptions, and patterns that influence the final piece. The resulting work features an offset grid as a structural framework, within which meticulously hand-stitched marks fluctuate across the fabric in tones of black and grey—evoking grains of sand gathering in the cracks of an imagined world or seeds of thought taking root. At the heart of Richard’s practice is a commitment to slowness, both conceptually and practically. He embraces a deliberate, thoughtful approach to making—resisting immediacy in favour of deep engagement with materials and process. Each stitch becomes a record of labour, thought, and care.