ALKE SCHMIDT
Visual artist
Tangled Yarns
Oil on Morris & Co fabric (Brother Rabbit), 120 x 181 cm Part of the solo exhibition Tangled Yarns at the William Morris Gallery (2014/15) and at Cromford Mills (Sep/Oct 2015)
Oil on Morris & Co fabric (Honeysuckle & tulip) 137 x 161 cm Part of the solo exhibition Tangled Yarns at the William Morris Gallery (2014/15) and at Cromford Mills (Sep/Oct 2015)
Oil, transfer print & khadi paper on 18th century style cotton print 70 x 100 cm Part of the Tangled Yarns solo exhibiiton at the William Morris Gallery (2014/15) and at Cromford Mills (Sep/Oct 2015)
Oil, acrylic & transfer print on 1930s patterned cotton print 70 x 100 cm Part of the solo exhibition 'Tangled Yarns' at the William Morris Gallery (2014/15) and at Cromford Mills (Sep/Oct 2015)
Oil, metal powder & mica on 18th century style toile de Jouy 80 x 100 cm Collection of the Arkwright Society Part of the Tangled Yarns exhibition at Cromford Mills, Sep/Oct 2015
Oil & embroidery on 1840s-style cotton print 70 x 90 cm Part of the solo exhibition 'Tangled Yarns' at the William Morris Gallery (2014/15) and at Cromford Mills (Sep/Oct 2015)
Oil on patterned cotton fabric 70 x 90 cm Part of the solo exhibition "Tangled Yarns" at the William Morris Gallery (2014/15) and at Cromford Mills (Sep/Oct 2015)
Oil on canvas with burned fabrics 90 x 180 cm Part of the solo exhibition Tangled Yarns at the William Morris Gallery (2014/15) and at Cromford Mills (Sep/Oct 2015)
Clothes, fabrics, acrylic & sawdust on canvas 80 x 100 x 12 cm Part of the Tangled Yarns exhibition at the William Morris Gallery (2014/15) and at Cromford Mills (Sep/Oct 2015)
Sewing pins & transfer print on cotton 32 x 145 x 12 cm Part of the Tangled Yarns exhibition at the William Morris Gallery (2014/15) and at Cromford Mills (Sep/Oct 2015)
Sewing pins, muslin, transfer print on cotton 55 x 119 cm Detail Part of the Tangled Yarns exhibition at the William Morris Gallery (2014/15) and at Cromford Mills (Sep/Oct 2015)
Oil & appliqué embroidery on patterned cotton fabric sourced in Vietnam 80 x 80 cm Part of the solo exhibition "Tangled Yarns" at the William Morris Gallery (2014/15) and at Cromford Mills (Sep/Oct 2015)
Appliquéed lettering on found patchwork 66 x 88 cm Part of the Tangled Yarns exhibition at the William Morris Gallery (2014/15) and at Cromford Mills (Sep/Oct 2015)
Alke's solo exhibition "Tangled Yarns" explores the politics and morality of the textile industry and the cotton trade, from the 18th century to the present day. The exhibition was initially commissioned by the William Morris Gallery with support from Arts Council England and then toured to Cromford Mills. A selection was shown in Saltaire in 2016, and in 2017 selected works toured to the People's History Museum, Manchester.
Each work examines a different episode in the industry’s complex - and often brutal – history, combining found fabrics with painting, stitch or print. Using both narrative and more abstract approaches, Alke reveals how the trade is intertwined with issues of race and gender, exploitation and violence. Each piece incorporates a different fabric, chosen for its association with the story being told and used as a canvas, sculptural medium or object in itself.