“This is just beautiful – what a thoughtful film.”
– Lizzie Cowan, Marketing & Communications Manager at Dovecot Studios
GARRY FABIAN MILLER explores the artist’s collaboration with Dovecot Studios to produce a series of tapestry rugs. Garry’s primary practice is creating photographs without the use of a camera and we spent an afternoon with him at his studio in Dartmoor witnessing, filming and discussing his practice and the Dovecot collaboration. This content was supported by an interview with artist and ‘tufter’ on the project, Dennis J Reinmüller.
Dovecot Studios’ ethos of engaging with contemporary artists to achieve creative commissions has resulted in some incredible pieces of work, many of which we have been lucky enough to witness and document. Each commission is based on a specific brief and brings together diverse personalities that come through in the different films.
This film brings together Commissioner, Architect, Scottish artist Victoria Crowe and the Weavers at Dovecot Studios to realise an incredible design that draws on the archive and history of the Leathersellers. An ambitious 45 metre tapestry, envisioned by Eric Parry Architects as part of their creation of a new premises for The Leathersellers’ Company – one of the ancient Livery Companies of the City of London.
Weaving Magic
Turner prizewinning artist Chris Ofili produced the designs for a tapestry commissioned by the Clothworkers’ Company. Ofili’s original work, entitled “The Caged Bird’s Song” is a watercolour painting and this set the weavers the challenge of trying to replicate the qualities of wet media (bleeding, blending, diffusing), greatly enlarged, in a tapestry! The finished tapestry was the centrepiece of an exhibition at the National Gallery in London before coming home to its site in the Clothworkers’ dining hall.
Deepest Darkest Blue
Garry Fabian Miller collaborated again with Dovecot in the large scale creation of one of his horizon images – a photographic image produced through manipulation of light without a camera. The deceptively simple design contains subtle gradations and colour shifts that the weavers interpreted in such a way that the finished tapestry seems to glow.