Mona and the Moths is a sculptural storytelling project by Naseem Darbey, exploring light, pollution, adaptation, and resilience through the life of her great-aunt Mona.
A working-class woman born in Bradford’s now-demolished Wapping Road neighbourhood. Linking Mona’s experience of industrialised Bradford, light deprivation, poverty and resulting disability from rickets with the evolution of the Peppered Moth, which famously changed colour due to industrial pollution. Naseem’s work investigates how the environment leaves permanent marks on both people and nature, creating interactive textile sculptures using photochromic dyes and conductive thread to produce wearable works that respond to light and touch. Rooted in research, personal history, and Bradford’s forgotten landscapes, the project invites audiences into a tactile encounter with environmental trauma, working-class heritage, and the potential for healing. Mona and the Moths shares untold histories and reimagines overlooked places through care, craft, and creativity.
About the Artist
Naseem Darbey is a Bradford-born artist whose sculptural drawings and textile installations explore themes of life, loss, and hope. Her immersive practice is grounded in storytelling, drawing, and socially engaged collaboration. With a background in both fine art and education, she has worked across public galleries, museums, and communities, often responding to place and overlooked histories. Naseem’s career spans high-profile residencies, including at the Gordon Museum of Pathology and commissions from major institutions such as the V&A, Bradford District Museums & Galleries, and The Potteries Museum. Her large-scale participatory projects, such as The Drawing Box and Pledges to the Landscape, have won national awards and celebrated collective creativity. Her work is tactile, thoughtful, and rooted in research, combining textiles, technology, and lived experience. Naseem sees art as a tool for reimagining forgotten stories, connecting people with place, and giving voice to those historically left out of the narrative.
Booking Information
Coming soon