Unbound: Visionary Women Collecting Textiles


Fascinating exhibition at Two Temple Place examining the collection of textiles by women. 

This show looked at the collections of seven women organising them roughly chronologically and by collector, telling you a bit about the woman and why they collected then showcasing items from those collections. He clothes spanned four hundred years and most of the world.  The show introduced me to some great characters and well as including some beautiful textiles.

I think my favourite ladies were the early ones. I liked Louisa Pesel, an embroider from Bradford, who started the Bradford Khaki Club in 1917 for injured First World War soldiers and taught them how to sew and embroider and later on worked at Winchester Cathedral and led a project to create 360 kneelers.

I loved Olive Matthews who started collecting pre-Victorian clothes with her pocket money. She never paid more than £5 for a piece and amassed 3000 items. She reminded me of when I collected vintage clothes as a teenager. Her collection included a set of pieces she inherited from her great great grandmother which she asked should always shown together and indeed they were here.

It was nice that the upper floor was dedicated to contemporary collectors Jennifer Harris at the Whitworth in Manchester and Nima Poovaya-Smith from Bradford. There were lovely examples of modern textile art including a Yinke Shonibar ship.

It was a nice touch to include Enid Marx which looked at the folk art including textiles which she collected but also looked at her own design work inspired by her collection.

Closes 19 April 2020

Reviews 
Guardian
Evening Standard



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