Creature Comforts at JGM Gallery, London

Woojin Joo - Re-New

 

Way back in December 2022 I went to the JGM Gallery in Battersea, London to see the Creature Comforts exhibition.  This was a textile exhibition exploring the multifaceted aspects of textiles - comfort, chaos and conflict.  It was great and here are my highlights...

Woojin Joo - Glove Dokkaebi

Woojin Joo's work is inflenced by the East Asian culture she grew up in. Her pieces were unusual and fascinating using lots or free machine embroidery.  Her Glove Dokkaebi was a creature made from a lost glove. Dokkaebi are Korean mythological creatures like a kind of goblin. It is believed they are formed by the spiritual possession of an inanimate object like a lost glove.  They are thought to be able to interact with humans to play tricks on them or to help them.  

Woojin Joo - Ten Symbols of Longevity (detail)

Freddie Robbins had both machine knitted and hand knitted pieces.  I liked how the handknitted word "courage" cast its shadows...

Freddie Robbins - Be Afraid

Freddie Robbins - Courage

I loved the bright colours and graphic style of Martin Maloney's embroidered piece. This was embroidered in Afghanistan using one of Martin's collages as the design...

Martin Maloney - Red Velvet (detail)

Molly Kent's weaving had a dramatic quality...

Molly Kent - Stuck in Limbo

                    

Alice Kettle's distinctive style of hand and machine stitch was in evidence here...

Alice Kettle - Lady With A Bowl

The exhibition closed in January but you can get a flavour of it here.

Significance at Gawthorpe Hall

Alice Kettle - Lost Limb (detail)

On at Gawthorpe Hall, Significance is a textile exhibition of work by staff and students from the Manchester School of Art, inspired by the Gawthorpe Textile Collection. The Textile Collection was amassed by Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth, the last member of the Shuttleworth family to live at Gawthorpe Hall.  'Miss Rachel' was passionate about textiles and collected lace, costume, fabrics and textile pieces from around the world and used them as a teaching resource and to inspire people to craft and create.   

Georgia Heaton

Hermione Crowe

Tabitha Muggeridge

Gawthorpe Textiles Collection Pieces

In the exhibition, as well as Alice Kettle, Georgia Heaton, Hermione Crowe & Tabitha Muggeridge, don't miss Lisa Baraona, Nigel Hurlstone, Lynn Setterington, Jane McKeating and more.  On until 25 June 2017, you still have time to catch the Significance exhibition.

(Thanks to Rachel Pilling for the photos after my own camera ran out of charge!)