Unravel:

at

the

Barbican

Art

Gallery

review

-

let

the

complex

fabric

of

this

textile

show

envelop

you

A baby’s blanket. A child’s football jersey. A boyfriend’s shirt, a grandmother’s dress. A shroud. There’s something very evocative about cloth; we wear it, we use it to keep warm, to keep safe; we give it ritual significance, we cherish it. Its intricate formation is the basis of countless metaphors – we weave stories, tie ourselves in knots.

And yet as an artform, textile has consistently been underestimated. Often, it’s dismissed as ‘craft’ or ‘women’s work’, its association with the domestic overriding its versatility, its resonances, and its complexity.

All of which makes it perfect as a form in which to get political. That’s the broad focus of this new exhibition at the Barbican, 'Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art', which features more than 100 artworks, from small embroideries to vast installations, by 50 international artists including the likes of Yinka Shonibare, Cecilia Vicuña, Magdalena Abakanowicz (recently the subject of a large solo exhibition at Tate Modern), Nicholas Hlobo and more. Many are likely to be new discoveries for visitors.

The show is organised thematically, though there is crossover. ‘Bearing Witness’ leans hard into the political, featuring works like Mexican artist Teresa Margolles’ community-made collages commemorating the police killings of Black men and women, or the assassination of the 17 year-old Jadeth Rosano Lopez in Panama City, stitched by his aunts.