Textiles - The Art of Mankind - by Joyce

Fashion and Textile Museum, 83 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3XF

I went to this exhibition on Tuesday (6th May) after going to a sculpture exhibition by Richard Hunt at the White Cube Gallery just further down Bermondsey Street.  The museum leaflet says it “celebrates the ancient and deep entanglement between textiles, people and our world.”

I loved all the colour and variety of materials used, beautiful stitching and appliqué, weaving, and the links to computers, looms , and QR codes.

The panel about the history of needles and their significance and development was fascinating. There were themes spanning materials, identity, collaboration and sustainability and items never before exhibited in the UK.



Lynn Setterington, who some of you may know of, had a large display showing how stitch can be used to commemorate people and communities.

The exhibition was a real celebration of textiles in all their forms and I can really recommend it, I shall go again, hopefully with Jane when she is free from all the excitement and duties of a new grandchild!

The nearest station is London Bridge, just a short walk, and there’s a glass blowing workshop on the way which is always worth a visit! There is no longer a cafe at the gallery but there are plenty of cafés nearby.