DESIGN
My independent and collaborative design practice is research and development based with outcomes including drawing, garment and textile design, writing and the curation of found objects. The aim of this work is to disseminate knowledge via online and freestanding exhibitions to a diverse audience with an interest in design, craft, and the social and material histories of these sectors (see examples below). I have also previously designed textiles, accessories and homewares, and carried out illustration projects for a number of international designer and high street brands including Marc Jacobs, Hussein Chalayan, Paul Smith, Chloe, Kate Spade and Anthropologie both in-house and on a freelance basis. Please get in touch regarding new commissions.
Conceived by curator, educator and ceramicist Katy West, India Street was a three part project that brought together designers and practitioners from the UK and India. The designers, including myself, were asked to respond to the legacy of the the Turkey Red textile industry based in and around Glasgow during the 19th and 20th century. This printing and dyeing industry actively used colonial practices of appropriating South Asian intellectual property and had a heavy impact on the stability of local craft processes and markets. Part 1, at Gayfield Creative Spaces in Edinburgh, exhibited textile designs that responded to the Bombay sample book. Part 2 involved research, workshops, and product development by British designers in Ahmedabad, India. Part 3 was an exhibition of these developed works held at Tramway, Glasgow and An Tobar on the Isle of Mull with displays in sister sites at Artisans Gallery, Mumbai and Conflictorium, Ahmedabad.
As part of my contribution I designed an illustrated souvenir scarf that documented Gandhi’s 1931 visit to struggling textile mills in Lancashire, and a pair of pyjamas featuring parakeets that drew attention to the paintings of local Indian artists for the East India company called ‘company paintings’.
(Below images courtesy of India Street)
Ermantrude’s Travels in Scotland
12th July – 30th August 2013
The Lighthouse Review Gallery, Glasgow
This solo exhibition, curated by Katy West, brought together a collection of scarves from the Scotland collection and material culture that influenced the research and design process.
ILLUSTRATION
Illustration has been central to my practice as a designer and used as a documentation technique during periods of research. Drawing features heavily on my own printed scarves and textiles, and those that I have designed for other brands. My illustrations have been featured online and in various print publications including The Sunday Times, Hole & Corner magazine and used by publishers Princeton Architectural Press, Thames & Hudson and The British Council.