A couple of weeks ago, I visited the Yorkshire Sculpture Park to catch the final few days of the 'FABRIC-ATION' exhibition by Yinka Shonibare MBE.
The textiles he uses are brightly coloured and made into items of clothing often worn by headless figures.
Patterns printed on the fabric relate to the idea behind each figure. A figure given the title of 'Air' had the patterns of birds printed on the fabric, similar to the sketch above. On her head, was a weather-vane, its arrow topped by the metal die-cut owl landing to catch the mouse.
The story of the fabric is fascinating; Shonibare first became aware of it in Brixton Market, and it's lineage
' was fantastically rich in meaning and metaphor, as the wax-resist batik cloth originated in Indonesia but was copied and manufactured in Holland and Manchester and sold to the African market. Hence the material exemplifies trade routes and legacies of a colonial past.'
The fabric was gorgeous; vividly coloured, and with complex patterns. Shonibare uses layers and layers of them, in different items of clothing. To see such fabrics used in the formal outfits of an C18th footman, was laugh out loud funny!
I had a lot to think about with this exhibition, not simply the ideas presented by Shonibare.
My work with textiles over the last few years has resulted in a narrowing of my palette; whereas once I would have splashed colour around in the way it is done on these fabrics. This has affected my paintings too; I'm not using as wide a range of colour as I used to. Here I was shown how effective the mass use of colour can be. Juxtaposition and contrast can create complexity; and also, joy. My friend Ann would've loved to see this exhibition.
Another 'old' sketch...found in a sketchbook, that I'd forgotten all about! Inspired by the exhibition of Peter Randall-Page at Yorkshire Sculpture a few years back. Marina Warner gave the opening speech at the private view; I had no idea she was going to be there, but as a long time 'fan' of her writing, I had to go and say hello.
All I can say, is she was very friendly and approachable, and happily chatted away to me, and others. I'd just read Iain Sinclair's book about Hackney, and he'd quoted a conversation he had with Marina Warner. I spoke about this to her; and also I'd just seen the Jean Luc Goddard dvd 'Sympathy For The Devil', about 1968, and the Rolling Stones recording process. Marina Warner is involved in that film, and Iain Sinclair refers to this in his book. Interesting, these connections.....I think Iain Sinclair might find it quite amusing! I know I did!
At Lime Tree Farm in North Yorkshire, stands a stone circle, erected by willing helpers at the end of last century. Each of the stones was put in place at specific points throughout the year, situated in particular directions.
When I went there a few years ago, I was struck by the patterns of quartz, running through the rock.
To me, it created a Hare. I was seeing a number of Hares during the late 1990's, at lots of different locations. Once you've seen a Hare, you can never mistake them for rabbits! I've seen some huge ones, the size of a medium-sized dog! And they have a very particular way of looking at you; as if they're seeing right into you, and through you. Very magical, are Hares. So it's not surprising that I saw the Hare in the quartz of this stone.
