ALKE SCHMIDT
Visual artist
Wonder and Dread
Alke's project "Wonder and Dread" explores the politics and morality of the textile industry through time, and how this industry affects and connects people across continents. The project, supported by Arts Council England, situates local stories from Bradford's wool industry in a global context, linking its industrial heritage with the present and where our clothes are made now. The project included a solo exhibition at Bradford Industrial Museum (Dec 17 - Nov 18) as well as a site-specific commission for Salts Mill, Saltaire, which is currently on display at Salts Mill's People and Process Gallery.
Each work examines a different episode in the textile industry’s complex history, combining found fabrics with painting, stitch or print. The fabrics for each piece were chosen for their association with the story being told and are used as a canvas, sculptural medium or object in itself. Using both narrative and more abstract approaches, "Wonder and Dread" invites us to consider the contradictions and ambiguities of an industry that spans centuries and every part of the globe.
The project builds on "Tangled Yarns", a solo exhibition commissioned by the William Morris Gallery in 2014/15, which subsequently toured to Cromford Mills and the People's History Museum, Manchester.
Oil and acrylic on cotton, 280 x 135 x 2.5 cm Commission for Salts Mill, Saltaire
Screenprint and acrylic on woollen fabric 75 x 74 x 2 cm Part of the solo exhibition "Wonder and Dread" at Bradford Industrial Museum,12/17 to 11/18
Screenprint and acrylic on worsted fabric made in Yorkshire 75 x 74 x 2 cm Private collection Part of the solo exhibition "Wonder and Dread" at Bradford Industrial Museum,12/17 to 11/18
Oil on Morris & Co fabric (Brother Rabbit), 120 x 181 cm Private collection Part of the solo exhibition "Wonder and Dread" at Bradford Industrial Museum 12/17 to 11/18
Oil on Morris & Co fabric (Honeysuckle & tulip) 137 x 161 cm Part of the solo exhibition "Wonder and Dread" at Bradford Industrial Museum 12/17 to 11/18
Wool, found clothes and fabrics, bobbins, threads, acrylic and sawdust on linen 85 x 100 x 12cm Part of the solo exhibition "Wonder and Dread" at Bradford Industrial Museum,12/17 to 11/18
Clothes, fabrics, acrylic & sawdust on canvas 80 x 100 x 12 cm Part of the "Wonder and Dread" exhibition at Bradford Industrial Museum 12/17 to 11/18
Sewing pins & transfer print on cotton 32 x 145 x 12 cm Part of the "Wonder and Dread" exhibition at Bradford Industrial Museum 12/17 to 11/18
Sewing pins, muslin, transfer print on cotton 55 x 119 cm Detail Part of the "Wonder and Dread" exhibition at Bradford Industrial Museum 12/17 to 11/18
Oil on canvas with burned fabrics 90 x 180 cm Part of the "Wonder and Dread" exhibition at Bradford Industrial Museum 12/17 to 11/18
Oil and Indian block-printed cotton fabrics on canvas 104 x 167 cm Part of the solo exhibition "Wonder and Dread" at Bradford Industrial Museum,12/17 to 11/18
Oil, acrylic & transfer print on 1930s patterned cotton print 70 x 100 cm Part of the "Wonder and Dread" exhibition at Bradford Industrial Museum 12/17 to 11/18
Oil, transfer print & khadi paper on 18th century style cotton print 70 x 100 x 4 cm Part of the "Wonder and Dread" exhibition at Bradford Industrial Museum 12/17 to 11/18
Oil on wool/flax upholstery fabric made in Huddersfield 65 x 45 x 2.5 cm Part of the solo exhibition "Wonder and Dread" at Bradford Industrial Museum,12/17 to 11/18
Oil on wool/flax upholstery fabric made in Huddersfield 45 x 65 x 2.5 cm Part of the solo exhibition "Wonder and Dread" at Bradford Industrial Museum,12/17 to 11/18
Oil on wool/silk upholstery fabric made in Huddersfield 45 x 65 x 2.5 cm Part of the solo exhibition "Wonder and Dread" at Bradford Industrial Museum,12/17 to 11/18
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 "Wonder and Dread" exhibition at Bradford Industrial Museum 12/17 to 11/18
Oil, alpaca/silk fabric, Peruvian fabric and embroidery on striped cotton fabric 125 x 90 x 7 cm Part of the solo exhibition "Wonder and Dread" at Bradford Industrial Museum,12/17 to 11/18
Oil on patterned cotton fabric 70 x 90 cm Part of the "Wonder and Dread" exhibition at Bradford Industrial Museum 12/17 to 11/18
Oil & appliqué embroidery on patterned cotton fabric sourced in Vietnam 80 x 80 cm Part of the "Wonder and Dread" exhibition at Bradford Industrial Museum 12/17 to 11/18
Appliquéed lettering on found patchwork 66 x 88 cm Part of the "Wonder and Dread" exhibition at Bradford Industrial Museum 12/17 to 11/18