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I have come to the end of the FDA at Bradford College and am about to embark on the course to top it up to a BA in Textiles Practice. Reflecting on what I have learned and can take forward I looked through all my sketchbooks from the last 4 years. He
This New artwork by @esdevlin with @refugees Article in @guardian https://www.theguardian.com/stage/article/2024/sep/09/artist-es-devlin-exhibition-refugee-portraits-congregation-london-ekow-eshun #saferoutesforefugees
Take one material .... To fold To cut Channeling @theartofthefold #triangularbook #handmadebookbinding #summerproject @bradfordtextiles #takeonematerial #richardserraverblist #newspaperart
Back to basics with a simple quilt-as-you-go log cabin, pieced straight on to batting and a crumb pieced backing. Simple stuff for when creativity is at a low ebb but I need to stitch something. #logcabin #scrappyquilt #crumbpiecing #imintheguild #q
Take one material .... To layer To stitch To cut Channeling @asmalldesign #layeredcloth #batextilespractice #summerproject @bradfordtextiles #takeonematerial #richardserraverblist #newspaperart
Take one material .... To layer To excavate #batextilespractice #summerproject @bradfordtextiles #takeonematerial #richardserraverblist #newspaperart #newspaperart
A visit yesterday to @talbotricegallery in Edinburgh to the exhibition of the amazing work of El Anatsui. Monumental 'cloths' constructed from metal or wood. I asked whether he supervised the installation, thinking about the folds int he fabric. I w
Thanks to @larkandbower for a great afternoon workshop, lots of ideas for yarn wrapping.
Recovered from Festival of Quilts, which was brilliant but exhausting. So beginning to feel creative again and get back to the Summer Project Take one material .... To layer #batextilespractice #summerproject @bradfordtextiles #takeonematerial #richa
Early morning photo of my booth before the crowds at Festival of Quilts. I have had great conversations today with so many people, it has been a privilege to exhibit here. A special shout out to @sculptureofstitch, thank you for such encouragement,
There is a better way - 1

There is a better way - 1

Mary Whitehouse
Textile Project, Activism

This work has been made to draw attention to the injustices faced by those who travel across the English Channel in small boats to seek asylum in the UK.

The work is my response to the current government’s treatment of people fleeing persecution or conflict in their home country and who believe that the UK will be a place of refuge. Politicians treat all these people, men, women, and children, as criminals, despite the fact that the majority of those requesting asylum are granted refugee status, or some other form of protection. There is a better way that removes the need for crossing in small boats: provide the opportunity for people to apply for asylum in the UK whilst they are in mainland Europe.

Images of people crammed into small rigid inflatable boats on rough seas, together with powerful artwork by Isaam Kourbaj (above) and poetry by Jenifer Toksvig (2015), and Neil Gaiman (Flood, 2019) have inspired me to produce this work, attempting to evoke the risks asylum seekers take in making the crossing.

Using discarded denim jeans, I have developed a variation on shibori techniques to create a textured surface on which small boats sit. I hope the viewer will feel a little of the jeopardy that must be in the minds of these people who have taken such risks to escape the injustices in their home country.

Alongside the main textile piece, I have also created a small artists book, as a fundraiser for Refugee Action York. I have created a JustGiving page where you can donate.
I have posted copies of the book to my MP, a Tory who supports this government policy, and to the Labour candidate. I have asked them both to support the creation of safe routes so that asylum seekers can apply for refugee status without having to rely on criminal gangs of people smugglers.

References
Flood, A. (2019) ‘“Ridiculously hard”: how Neil Gaiman wrote a poem for refugees from 1,000 tweets’, The Guardian, 10 December. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/dec/10/neil-gaiman-poem-for-refugees-tweets-what-you-need-to-be-warm (Accessed: 1 August 2023).
Porter, V. (2021) Issam Kourbaj: Dark Water, Burning World | British Museum. Available at: https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/issam-kourbaj-dark-water-burning-world  (Accessed: 1 November 2023).
Toksvig, J. (2015) What they took with them, UNHCR. Available at: https://www.unhcr.org/what-they-took-them (Accessed: 19 September 2023).

There is a better way - 2

There is a better way - 2
Seascapes

Seascapes