V & A Quilts 1700 to 2010 - Part 1

I have been extremely lax in posting this, due to illness etc..... So apologies apologies

I was fortunate to have had my blog spotted by the V & A and was invited to a private viewing of their new quilt show which started on the 20th March.  The viewing was on the 17th and I was lucky to meet some of the artists and wander the show in complete peace and at my own speed - an absolute luxury for one who is usually trailed by three noisy children!  I had a marvellous time and the show was wonderful.

The show was so extensive I have decided to split my posts up and am starting with some of the contemporary pieces.

How many times do I have to repeat myself - Caren Garfen - 2010

As I was viewing this piece I was approached by Caren and I had the opportunity to speak with her, the quilt took Eighteen months to produce and was her first and possibly last quilt!  All the fabric was hand screen printed especially for the project and embroidered in silk.  The piece is a study of women, the workplace and home and depicts domestic objects and hand stitched text.  

Women were asked to contribute 'fluff' residue from tumble driers, she states - " 'A bit of fluff' has been used as a description given to women by men.  Small pieces of fluff are trapped within the quilt in the same way as women are trapped into working due to financial pressures when in reality they would prefer to stay at home."

Punctuation - Sarah Impey - 2009

This piece was absolutely stunning and so intricately worked, which you can't really see from my photo.  The quilt is a cream silk background which has been free machine quilted in coloured polyester threads.  Words have been quilted illustrating 'the narrative that imbues every quilt'.

My favourites were these two pieces by Jo Budd.

The colour combinations and the painterly style with which she approaches her work really spoke to me, and I feel inspired to print and dye some of my own fabric.

Summer/Female

Winter/Male

Right to Life - Grayson Perry - 1993

Done in a traditional style, this quilt contradicts with it's difficult subject matter - the American abortion debate of the 1990s.  Not one of my favourites, but thought provoking.

To Meet my Past - Tracey Emin - 2003

A multimedia installation of a brass bed dressed with appliqued blankets and sheets.  I am not a fan of Tracey Emin but feel I ought to include her as the piece was seen as one of the major features of the exhibition.

Sorry about the quality of the photographs, it was dark to protect the fabrics and I had stupidly only taken my iphone.  I will post again soon with more photos and more of the exhibition.