Prism Textiles - Dictionary Exhibition - London - April 2026

Ross Belton - Vessel
Representing the concept of containment, transport and the relationship between container and contents across cultures

 

The annual Prism Textiles exhibition at the Art Pavilion, Mile End, London is one of the highlights of my textile year.  Not only is the venue fantastic and beautifully located, the textile work is varied and interesting and there are free workshops.  This year the theme was Dictionary - interpreted in multiple ways by members of the group.  A challenge this year for visitors was the tube strike, which was in force on the two occasions when I visited.   However, using the Santander bikes for hire solved the problem for us, although the cycling was a bit hairy until we discovered (only on the final journey, unfortunately) that we could make almost the entire journey along the Regent's Canal! 

Prism tells us that this year's exhibition "explores the hidden meanings embedded in words: their origins, their shifting forms across centuries, misunderstandings, transformations, and cultural echoes."

Here I show a few personal favourites from the exhibition.

Judith Rowley - C is for Colour
Natural fabrics and fibres with hand and machine stitch
Sometimes a dictionary definition isn't enough, colour has to be seen to be appreciated.

Jane Riley - The dictionary of infinite revision
Wood, wool, linen, cotton, silk, woollen blanket, plastic and cardboard
A physical dictionary is obsolete as we embrace a digital future.  The Pink Paint seaweed encrusting the cover of this dictionary also faces extinction with rising ocean temperatures and acidification.

Jill Walker - Florilegium I
Cyanotype, stitch & gathered materials
A language rooted in materials rather than words

Maria Walker - Women's words
Preloved jacket, felt, thread, words
A dictionary of synonyms for women sewn onto a jacket
There are many derogatory terms for women in dictionaries written by the established patriarchy who dominated literature and language for many years

Annie Taylor - List, Less, Listless
Textile scraps, thread
The artist cannot work without a list so being listless represents having nothing to do.  If it's not written down, it can't be done.

Jeryl Church - The Twisting of the Truth
Tissuetex, ink, papers, konnyaku paste, paper yarn, linen thread
Represents the manipulation of words to promote false narratives and disinformation

Helen O'Leary - Treasure 1
Mixed materials, textiles, stitch, knitted wire
"Treasure" as babies' bootees 

Marilyn Hall - A tin ticket and a small bag
Used natural cloths, indigo dye, linen thread
Minor misdemeanours by women in 19th century Britain could lead to deportation.  They carried an identity tag and a bag of fabric scraps that they could stitch into items to sell.

Julie Turner - Grief: noun: as in distress caused by loss
Rust, heat press print, plant material, plant dyed fabric, wax
Made in response to the deaths of refugees crossing the channel

I also took a Stitched Textile Vessels workshop with Maria Walker... 

Maria Walker - An empty vessel makes the most noise
Cloth, thread
Work exploring the word "vessel" from a feminist context

Maria Walker's Example Stitched Textile Vessels

My Stitched Vessel - A Work in Progress

and a Scrappy Dolls Workshop with Annie Taylor...  

My Scrappy Doll

Both workshops were great fun and informative.  You can see their work and my works in progress above. 

I hope that gives you a flavour of the varied and fabulous works that were on display. The exhibition has finished now so you can't visit but do keep it in mind for next year. Also, a shout out to The Coffee Room, which is the closest cafe to the Art Pavilion.  Who knew red velvet doughnuts could be so good!