The assembled artwork – made entirely in white thread – was on exhibition in 2021 at Queen Street Mill in Burnley, and is now part of the ‘Cotton: Labour, Land and Body’ at the Crafts Council Gallery, London from 21 September 2022 – 4 March 2023.
I was thrilled to finally see my stitched contribution on a recent visit to London and took a few photos to share with you.
‘Cotton: Labour, Land and Body’ at the Crafts Council Gallery
My piece of white embroidery
Detail
Detail
Contributors to Collateral
“For British Textile Biennial 2021 artist Brigid McLeer creates a memorial to the hundreds of workers who die in factories and sweatshops across the world that supply the global garment industry. Made in collaboration with local embroiderers and inspired by a large scale lace panel from the Gawthorpe Textile Collection commemorating the Battle of Britain, the work will be a moving testament to the lives lost to feed the West’s seemingly bottomless appetite for fast fashion. The new embroidered panel will be 450 x 163 cm and around three of its four sides will be a 10cm wide border with a repeated motif. The motif re-draws the repeated pattern of wheat sheaves depicted on the Battle of Britain lace panel, as a repeated pattern of bodies, wrapped in fabric and laid out on the ground, drawn from a photograph of victims taken after the Kader Industrial factory fire in 1993.”
Collateral Project
Collateral
Crafts Council Gallery
Crafts Council, 44a Pentonville Road, London N1 9BY. The Gallery is open Wednesdays to Saturdays, 11am – 5pm. Entry is free.
This year I’ve two pieces of work to share – Fragments & Sylko Addict will be on exhibition with the Embroiderers’ Guild at the Knitting & Stitching Shows 2022 in London and Harrogate.
Fragments is part of the EG ‘In & Out of Lockdown’ Members’ Challenge 2022. Hand pieced quarter inch hexagons. Eco printed cotton cloth. Size 21 x 21cm.
Fragments – Members’ Challenge ‘In & Out of Lockdown’ Exhibition 2022
Sylko Addict is part of the EG ‘Collections’ exhibition. Words composed by Catherine Hill. Hand embroidered text, cotton cloth. Size 21 x 21cm.
Sylko Addict – part of the Collections Exhibition
I thoroughly enjoy exhibiting with the Guild. It’s a brilliant way to introduce my work to a wider audience and engage with new stitchers – in last year’s show I exhibited Matchbox Challenge and Headspace – Self Portrait.
I’m please to announce that Covid 19 Part 1 has been selected to take part in the Threads of Survival exhibition. This touring exhibition will be in the J.H.Adams & Sons building, Adams Heritage Centre, 17 Main Street, Littleport, CB6 1PH, 1st – 29th October 2022 and in Chorley in February 2023. Check for the latest exhibition dates here.
COVID-19 Part 1 part of the Threads of survival exhibition
“Thoughts on the impact of solid words gathered by Lancashire textile artist Catherine Hill. Threads Of Survival were thrilled to receive an email from someone who had seen our work on Instagram and wanted to know if there was any way we could include her work. We’re proud of the fact that our project has been focused on anyone and everyone coming on board and having a go – no matter what background or skills/experience. But we have to acknowledge that we’ve been blessed with textile and visual artists who have joined us and been incredibly generous with their time and their creative ideas. It’s been a real support knowing that our grassroots community approach is recognised as valuable by professional artists.
Collecting words and phrases of the Covid era has been an element of our quilts … Catherine Hill, a Lancashire textile artist, chose to capture the mental state of so many of us dealing with the repetitive routine and circular patterns of the LockDown year 2020/21. Catherine’s work has been shown in galleries and exhibitions recently and we discussed the decision to put her textile pieces behind glass and inside frames. We’ve had our own discovery with one of our patches and Catherine agreed that placing textiles in a frame and behind glass gives the work a different presence to the viewer. Catherine’s Covid19 – Part One joins us for the winter tour into 2023 and we are delighted that she has asked to join the collection.
This is what she has to say about her piece. Some people write memoirs or biographies – I make hand-stitched embroideries. Originally my art was created for my children as a medium to share my own childhood memories and has since evolved and expanded to collect and record aspects of my own daily life – this included life during the first UK lockdown which I felt needed documenting in some way. The piece is about our shared experiences in March 2020. It was designed in late summer and stitched just before the November 2020 lockdown. As I was stitching it, I found myself doubting that some of these things had actually occurred – no planes in the sky and the loud sound of birdsong. We all lived through a joint experience in March that we’ll remember for years to come.”
Threads of Survival blog.
Threads of Survival
I’m honoured to have this piece included in the project.
Update October 2022:
Images from the Littleport exhibition.
Covid-19 Part 1 in the Littleport exhibition
Update January 2023:
The touring exhibition is showcasing artworks at St Laurence’s Church Gallery, Chorley, 31st January – 26th February 2023.
Update March 2023:
The exhibition visits Halifax in the Calderdale Valley, 7th March – 13th April 2023.
The exhibition comes to Halifax Central Library & Archives, Square Road, Halifax HX1 1QG, as part of a nationwide tour that has seen the quilts visiting locations across the country, including Gawthorpe Hall in Burnley, the Royal Museum in Truro and Dewsbury Minster. After Halifax it will be moving to Rotherham Minster, in May.
Update May 2023:
The touring exhibition reaches Rotherham, South Yorkshire 4th – 30th May 2023.
In May 2023, Rotherham welcomes ‘Threads of Survival’, a national exhibition of 28 quilts and textile art made by over 160 people. The artworks will be showcased in two venues in the centre of Rotherham: Riverside Gallery in Riverside House and Rotherham Minster.
Update June 2023:
The touring exhibition visits the Huddersfield Art Gallery Unit 7, The Piazza Centre, Princess Alexandra Walk, Huddersfield HD1 2RS, 9th June – 10th July 2023.
