Saturday 24 May 2025 - Sunday 2 November 2025
10:00 am - 4:30 pm
We are proud to present the outcome of the Threads project, featuring the personal responses of group members to the work of acclaimed artist Adeela Suleman.
Threads: Glynn Vivian Community Textiles Group has been experimenting with textile-based techniques and materials. As the project has developed, the slow, repetitive nature of textile processes has encouraged social interactions and connections. This slowed-down approach has allowed for the development of a shared sense of purpose celebrating how the threads of our diverse lives are inextricably woven together in our community.
In its first phase the group learnt from a wide range of textiles practitioners, exploring batik, natural dying, dressmaking, crochet and appliqué. Putting their skills to the test the group produced a literal banquet of textile process in the form of a tea party, with knitted cakes, a printed tablecloth and playful interventions. This work was showcased in Patchwork, a community exhibition in the gallery’s garden room.
In the second phase, guided by associate textiles artist, Menna Buss, the group responded to Artes Mundi 10 works in Swansea and Cardiff to co-create an exhibition with Valleys Kids community group in Porth, making connections and creative friends.
With skills built through these experiences and the group’s enthusiasm, Threads has worked alongside international artist Adeela Suleman to create a sculptural work to celebrate peace and the beauty of Wales. The group has consistently met with the artist to share progress, experiences, learning, friendships and the multicultural connections they have forged.
Suleman’s work Imperium Amidst Opium Blossoms (A Kashidakari on the era of the East India Company) is currently on display in Room 3 in the exhibition Tigers & Dragons: India and Wales in Britain.
Imperium Amidst Opium Blossoms showcases key figures from the East India Company (EIC), uniting the Tiger of India and the Dragon of Wales. Through her use of Kashida (a Mughal-era embroidery technique that combines silk appliqué with hand-stitched embellishments), Suleman reflects upon the bygone splendour of the Mughals, who were deposed by the British in 1858. At the heart of this story – and the tapestry – are Robert Clive (Clive of India) and Powis Castle. Winning the Battle of Plassey (1757), Clive was responsible for kickstarting the British Empire in India.
The Threads project has been funded by Arts Council of Wales Create Grant.
Categories
