“Absolutely incredible! We love it!”
– Naomi Robertson, Master Weaver
Dovecot Tapestry Studio worked with Turner prizewinning artist Chris Ofili on a new tapestry for The Clothworkers’ Company. We were invited to document the process and the stunning finished piece on display in the National Gallery London, before it was installed in the Clothworkers’ Hall for which it was commissioned and designed. Ofili collaborated closely with the weavers to see his watercolour and charcoal design translated into a hand-woven tapestry, which took two and a half years to complete.
The design for the work, entitled ‘The Caged Bird Sings’, combines imagery from classical mythology and contemporary culture, together with the caged songbirds, stories, magic and colour of the Trinidadian landscape of his home. The gestural watercolour and charcoal image includes lots of chance effects and organic mixes of the media that the weavers had to interpret in wool over the two years of weaving. The finished tapestry is in 3 panels and was exhibited at the National Gallery London alongside a series of drawings and preparatory sketches (including the Barwuah image right) in an exhibition entitled ‘Weaving Magic’. Chris Ofili also painted the monochrome installation of huge dancing figures that surrounds the tapestry in the exhibition.