Airing, Curated by Alison Aye
I’ve been collaborating for two years with Ken Turner the founder of Tension an artist run gallery space in South London. When Ken asked me to curate a show (he was moving house and lacked time), I wanted to select artists who use thread, a first for Tension. “Airing” was born of chance and trust, and I couldn’t be more proud of the remarkable artists and diverse practices it brought together.
Georgie Bates’ patchwork, inspired by Sienese painting, hung with Sally Spinks’ tufted Axminster wool sculptures. Sarah Coviello’s embroidered silk blouse (unseen since her 1989 Goldsmiths’ degree show) examines shifting ideals of femininity, echoed by Sato Sugamoto’s serene ‘Balance’. Tina Crawford’s ‘Gilding the Lily’ documents her daughter’s journey through childhood garments.
Materiality and ritual grounded the exhibition. Emily Jo Gibbs’ ‘Rain’, dyed with handmade plant pigments, mirrored Messua Wolff’s vast, inked ‘===Digestion’, which forms part of Messua’s current PhD studies at the Royal College of Art. These tactile works merged with the digital, when S. Kelly stitched into AI-generated imagery.
There was humour and protest, too. Radical Embroiderer’s ‘Pants On Fire’ and Helen Davies’ ‘They’ll Tell You Owt’, a knitted woman showering in lies, both lampooning COVID-era politics. Wolfgang Woerner’s bonkers (in a good way) stuffed creatures pulled manipulative invisible strings, and Claire Mort’s embroidered pillowcase simply read, “I can’t sleep”.
My favourite section (am I allowed?) was three small works hung together: S. Riley’s ‘Endure’, a salvaged leather scrap with its original stitch; Fiona Hingston’s tender ‘Hay Doll’; and Jane Wood’s exquisite ‘Thoughts from nowhere’, made from a found piece of neatly-cut bark which the artist said, “felt someone had a plan for, and was happy to have helped on its way”.
Storytelling was apparent throughout. Rihanata Bigey, Marcia Bennett-Male and Sumi Perera used textiles to voice critique and ancestral reverence. Marcia’s doll-like girls/women are joyful yet piercing, confronting history with English chintz and African prints. Annie Taylor’s ‘The Hares On The Mountain’ was inspired by an old folk song and Woo Jin Joo’s object-play explores folklore.
The art and the artists got along. Friendships were made. I’m hoping Ken moves house again!
Alison Aye is an arist, curator and writer.
