Demons, Yarns & Tales
Demons, Yarns & Tales sees fifteen internationally renowned artists exploring an art form outside of their comfort zones. These experiments with tapestries were conceived by luminaries such as Kara Walker, Grayson Perry, Beatriz Milhazes and Fred Tomaselli and from there it was over to a rural community north of Shanghai where an entirely female team made the vision a reality using Flemish weaving techniques. Now this fascinating collection of woven pieces has come to The Dairy, a former milk depot turned grand warehouse gallery in Bloomsbury.
There is a subdued prejudice against tapestries, their aristocratic intentions but dated perceptions point to a faded glory. These depictions of war, country pursuits and tales of God inspired Christopher and Suzanne Sharp of the arts commissioning organisation Banners of Persuasion to kick start a revival of this forgotten medium.
Three years in the making, this lost world addresses themes of translation and transformation, where fictive landscapes sit side by side with fashion and politics. The works are a translation of the artist's familiar medium of paint and paper, ink and canvas, ceramics or wood, into that of hand-woven stitch and silk thread.
It is important to note that none of these contemporary artists have worked with tapestries before, making the project all the more ground-breaking. As such, artist Francesca Lowe calls the art form “a resurrected talisman from a bygone era”. Indeed, the spectral faces in her piece 'Trump' form a no mans land inhabited by spiritual ghosts, and are certainly difficult to place. She continues: “But at the same time, a tapestry is also a bit like a pixelated image. In that sense it’s also highly modern.”
The largest and most awe inspiring tapestry is 'villa joe' by Paul Noble, which looks like the dark side of the moon. It is in fact a direct transfer of his meticulous graphite drawings of a fictional city, Nobson Newtown. Naturally, this humorous piece of art would be more suited to the castles of landed gentry than the sitting rooms of a typical Londoner.
An ironic statement is noted in 'Mappa del Mundo', where the highest form of craft is 'defaced' by a map of the world made out of pictures of everyday discarded rubbish such as cigarette packs, beer cans and crisp bags, surely commenting on wasteful globalisation. My personal favourite is the haunting 'A Warm Summer Evening in 1863' by Kara Walker, a scene from the end of the American Civil War in which the background of racially charged mob rule is dominated by the black silhouette of a lynched woman in the forefront.
Another tapestry that certainly stands out is 'Vote Alan Measles For God' by Grayson Perry. Documenting a power struggle for the modern day, this tapestry alludes to 9/ll, the hunt for Bin Laden and Guantanamo. In the centre of the image is Perry's childhood teddy bear, Alan Measles, wearing a suicide bomb: "a kind of Bayeux Tapestry of the war on terror" comments Perry.
Exhibiting for twelve days only, these works have bought tapestry kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Go and witness the first fashion moment for this forgotten world since the Middle Ages.
Demons, Yarns & Tales, November 10th - 22nd, at The Dairy, 7 Wakefield Street, WC1.