Cloth and Culture

Cloth and Culture an amazing touring exhibition at the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester These images are from the accompanying book edited by Lesley Millar available through the website and well worth investing in .
There were so many pieces that I loved both for their ideas , materials and construction methods .
One of the artists, Jun Mitsuhashi from Japan ,had this statement by his work that rang true for my own work
"I show a world which is in opposition to one of anxiety , fear and unhappiness....The essence of art is to open up peoples hearts and minds and I believe that those around positive power not negative."
The piece by Latvian artist Liva Krimina ,Nobody (photograph:P.98 Ojars Grikis, Cloth and Culture Now ,Millar Lesley ED. UCCA Canterbury 2008 )appears to be some kind of cloth of gold with delicately created images of knights in armour is actually constructed from black garbage bags silk screened and heat pressed.There is so much symbolism , references to tapestry to a lost forgotten army to the present problems we now have with plastics particularly the garbage bags that everone uses once and then throws away but are not biodegradeable .
Lina Jonike's Architectural Monument (p131 photo Lina Jonike,Cloth and Culture Now ,Millar Lesley ED. UCCA Canterbury 2008 ) with its beautiful sepia tones and hand embroidered blue flowers creates a narrative that combines personal experience with cultural influences .
There are too many to show here you need to see this for yourself and read the book !It has helped me to understand the subconscious and conscious references I use in my own work from my own culture and experiences .