Unravel : The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art

Thoughtful exhibition at the Barbican Art Gallery looking at the use of textile in artistic practice since the 1960s often with subversive ends.

The show featured 50 artists arranged in themes starting with a series of rooms on the first floor then moving to the large space downstairs focusing on works on the theme of ancestral threads, work inspired by the artists’ heritage.

I loved the large open downstairs area which showed so that they spoke to each other. I would however make a plea for larger or better placed labels! There was a lot to read and a number of the middle aged, including me, were setting off alarms when we had to move in close to read them. They were quite long and quite woke too.

I loved the breadth of the show but it would have benefited from a bit more history. It mentioned quilts which were maps to enslaved people to places to access escape routes and I would have loved to see one and how can you discuss textile and politics without a union banner?!

I was delighted to find the work of Malgorzata Mirag-Tas which I had seen in the Venice Biennial two years ago and I think I recognised a few others from that show.

Closed 26 May 2024


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