Arts Thread

Inspired by the Great Exhibition of 1851 and the Festival of Britain in 1951, my work reflects on the achievements of Britain, with an emphasis placed on displaying the diversity of our nation, instead of the previous focus on industry. The triptych examines ways in which Britain has grown in recent history, as a result of post-war immigration and activist movements, as well as other landmark moments. Using aesthetic inspiration from the Arts and Crafts movement I collated imagery including typical British textiles such as flannel and patchwork quilting in addition to textiles that have been brought to Britain from afar. These include delicately embroidered saris and traditionally printed African fabrics amongst others, alongside details of religious buildings, modern cultural artwork, and fragments of everyday British life. My work employs the metaphor of the patchwork quilt to represent the patchwork of cultures that make up an ethnic, religious, and LGBT+ diverse nation. This is reinforced by the image of the draped tartan, a traditionally British fabric, alluding to how these identities are the fibres that weave together to make our nation. In addition, I designed a hypothetical glass installation for the ikon gallery in Birmingham which would be my proposed venue for a new festival of Britain, in which the space would be filled with cultural artworks the represent the nation. This project also acted as an investigation into how we can bring stained glass forward into fine art, instead of a domestic craft. Furthermore, modern houses and rented properties place limits on installing stained glass, so I have explored making stained glass with fitted light boxes to allow for interior installation.