Murray Edwards College (formerly New Hall) in Cambridge houses an unparalleled collection of art by women artists, which can be visited free of charge and without the need to pre-book:
From February 17 to August 28, 2022, they were also host to the exhibition “What Lies Beneath: Women, Politics and Textiles” by a multi-generational, international group of women artists and collectives, using textiles to comment on politics and society.
“Traditionally, the history of textiles is the history of women’s work. Whether hung over beds, laid on floors or worn on the body, textiles have a unique ability to communicate collective histories and individual stories. Over time and continents, this tradition has evolved. From Chilean arpilleras to quilts from the American South, textiles have become a powerful way to shape identity, build community and prompt political action.”
Here are some of the highlights, picked out by Phoenix member Rosaline Darby:
Miriam Schapiro (1923 – 2015)
MADNESS OF LOVE, 1987
Schapiro was a pioneer of 1970s feminist art in America, spearheading the Pattern and Decoration movement, which employed craft and decorative traditions to honour women artists excluded from art history. Madness of Love is an example of what Schapiro called femmage, combining the words “feminine” and “collage”.
Stella Mae Petway (born 1952)
BIG WHEEL, 1986
Petway is a member of the Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers in rural Alabama, where quilting techniques have been passed down through generations of women. The quilts draw on symbols and patterns from African and Native American textiles. They are often made from the good parts of old clothes and are intended for practical use.
Anya Paintsil (born 1993)
BLODEUWEDD, 2022
Paintsil draws on her Welsh-Ghanaian heritage in her work, which employs rug-hooking (passed down by generations of her Welsh female forebears) as well as Black and Afro hair styling techniques, and aims to elevate craft-based practices traditionally associated with women of colour and from working-class origins. Blodeuwedd (Flower Face) is a character from Welsh folklore.
Tejedoras de Mampuján
MUJER PARIENDO EN EL ÁRBOL (WOMAN GIVING BIRTH IN A TREE) 2008
The Colombian Mampuján Sewing Group made this appliquéd piece in collaboration with local women as testimony to the horrors of armed conflict.
Permindar Kaur (born 1965)
TURBANS, 2012
Kaur often works in installation to show the potential of textiles to be sculptural objects. These nine stuffed “toys” contrast the softness of textile with the hardness of metal, which the artist links to stereotypes of femininity and masculinity.
Memorate
¿DÓNDE ESTÁN? (WHERE ARE THEY?) 2018
This arpillera, a type of Chilean textile art that normally has an activist element, depicts hands holding up photographs of “the disappeared” – people who went missing during the Chilean dictatorship. Memorarte is a feminist art collective.
