The Warp / The Weft / The Wake: Holly Graham at Manchester Art Gallery
Since the summer of 2023, London-based artist Holly Graham has been embedded in residency at Manchester Art Gallery, pursuing research that reaches deep into the institution's own foundations. The resulting exhibition, on show until 6 September 2026, centres on a Victorian-style cotton printed costume modelled on a dress worn by African American abolitionist Sarah Parker Remond, who arrived in Manchester as part of a tour of Britain in 1859, delivering an anti-slavery speech at the Athenaeum, now part of the gallery's footprint.
Close-up of end-paper in ‘Royal Manchester Institution: Share Registers’, 1823. Manchester Central Library & Archive. Image courtesy of the artist.
Rare surviving examples of woven Manchester check, also known as ‘Guinea cloth’. Photo: Holly Graham
The cotton cloth carries screenprinted designs drawn from marbled endpapers of the Royal Manchester Institution's subscribers' ledgers, and rare surviving examples of woven Manchester check, also known as 'Guinea cloth' — cheaply produced cloth that travelled transatlantic trade routes to West African markets in exchange for enslaved people. Graham discovered these woven samples largely uncatalogued, hiding in plain sight among a run of print swatches. The check's resemblance to the ledger grid became central to her thinking: 'I was interested in using this format to highlight the names of those whose money was assigned to the founding of the institution, but also to signpost towards the names that are not included.'
‘Marble’, ‘Check’ and ‘Stone’ test print swatches. Image: Holly Graham.
The title borrows from cultural theorist Christina Sharpe's concept of the "wake" as life in the aftermath of slavery, and the trail left by a vessel cutting through water. Remond's words, spoken here over 160 years ago, still reverberate: "not one cent of the money ever reached the hands of the labourers."
Holly Graham, The Warp / The Weft / The Wake: Speaking Back - a live performance at Manchester Art Gallery, March 2026. Image courtesy of the artist and Manchester Art Gallery. Photo: Ahmani Vidal.
The Warp / The Weft / The Wake, 2024. Costume: dress, corset, petticoat, crinoline and undergarments. Screen printed woven cotton, cotton thread, steel boning, mother of pearl. Photo © Michael Pollard; Image courtesy of the artist and Manchester Art Gallery
The dress itself was co-created with Graham's mother, Jennifer Graham, a professional costumier who advised on period undergarments, the structural integrity of materials and the demands of wearing the finished costume. It is a collaborative object as much as an authored one.
We were intrigued to find out more, and were lucky enough to speak to Holly as part of our Five Minutes with a Friend series:
Five Minutes with a Friend: Holly Graham
Portrait of Holly Graham in her studio. Photo: Luana Rigolli
Holly, what is your earliest memory of a textile?
I really had to think back to this. I think my earliest memory might be of a soft baby book made from textiles, with different textures and surfaces in it. I remember a crinkly page that probably had plastic inside it to make the sound, and also a satin page. I remember rubbing the satin against my lips because it was so soft — that feeling really stayed with me.
Either that, or it might have been a puppet my mum had, which I think she may have made. It was made from these kind of satin-like discs that formed the arms and legs. Again, I remember loving that satin feel.
Check print in progress on the screen printing table. Photo courtesy of Holly Graham.
How would you describe what draws you to textiles and the world of making?
My background is in printmaking, particularly fine art printmaking. I started finding my way into print through etching and also collage. I’ve continued to be interested in print from a broader perspective, thinking about repetition, duplication, dissemination, documentation, and storytelling. I’m also really interested in the archive.
I’ve often been drawn to ideas of pattern repeat within my work. Sometimes that’s through working with existing fabrics and lifting patterns from them, and sometimes it’s through designing my own patterns from an original reference point. For example, I did a project with a space in Shetland called Gåda, where I found an amazing fabric with ribbons woven into a spiral pattern. In another project, I worked with a wallpaper pattern from my grandmother’s house and brought that into a video work. More recently, in Manchester, I used marbled endpaper patterns to create a repeat fabric pattern for a costume.
Print is really my way into thinking about textiles. I’m interested in how patterns and materials can carry stories. In the Manchester project, I was drawn to pattern books in the gallery archive containing printed textiles and cotton swatches made by local manufacturers in Lancashire.
Design board for The Warp / The Weft / The Wake. Image courtesy of Holly Graham.
Where do you feel most inspired to work?
I have a studio about ten minutes from my house in South London, which I really love. It has a skylight and lots of natural light. I also love that there’s a community of artists in the building. There’s a shared kitchen space where people naturally cross over and you get little moments of exchange.
Because of my background in printmaking, I’m also drawn to print workshops. They’re communal spaces where you see what other people are making and it becomes a very materially led, process-focused environment.
I also find archives really inspiring — whether that’s a formal reading room or looking through boxes of collected materials that people have kept. Those spaces can be really exciting places to locate yourself.
What has sparked your imagination or inspired you recently?
Recently, I think it’s been conversations with other creatives such as fellow artists, peers, and friends, and seeing their work develop. There was an opening of new work at Camden Art Centre by artist Ain Bailey, who is one of my studio mates. We’ve shown together before, and I’ve had insight into some of the themes she’s been thinking through. There are overlaps with my own research around Caribbean heritage, Jamaica specifically, and ideas around diaspora and relationships to place.
I think those everyday conversations and glimpses into other artists’ practices are what inspire me most.
Names of Parties who have assented to pay the Annual Guinea, 2025. Digital print and screenprinted varnish. Photo © Michael Pollard; Image courtesy of the artist and Manchester Art Gallery
What is your most treasured textile and what story does it carry?
The first thing that comes to mind is probably my jeans or trousers. I used to cycle, and I’m missing wearing them at the moment because they’ve developed a hole. They were really robust and well-loved, but they’ve finally worn through, so I need to repair them or find an alternative.
I’m also a big fan of scarves. I lost a really lovely checked wool scarf that I’d had for many years, and I still hope we might be reunited! Since losing it, my dad very kindly gave me one of his old scarves. It’s a black cashmere scarf, very simple but incredibly soft, and I’ve been wearing it for the last couple of winters.
Jennifer Graham working on construction of the crinoline in Holly’s studio. Image: Holly Graham.
Where did you first learn your craft and who shaped your early approach to making?
I think my earliest approach to making comes from my parents, and probably my mum in particular. They’re both creative, but my mum was a costumier when I was growing up. She later moved into music and now makes a hot, sweet pepper jelly, so she’s always moved between different creative disciplines. She used to make me outfits for World Book Day and spend lots of time doing arts and crafts with me, so I think that gave me a strong foundation.
In terms of print, I’d say one of my school teachers, Stephanie Cubbin, really encouraged my interest in art and put me forward for workshops. Later, one of my tutors, Oona Grimes at The Ruskin School of Art, introduced me to etching, which I loved. That opened up the world of printmaking for me. I later followed that route to the Royal College of Art, where I studied printmaking, and I now teach on that course.
Is there a piece of music you return to while you work that sets the rhythm of your making?
I don’t think there’s one particular piece of music I return to. I love music, but I don’t actually listen to it that much in the studio. I tend to listen to podcasts or radio instead — something I can get absorbed into while I’m working.
What material technique are you currently experimenting with or curious to explore further?
I’m currently experimenting with bronze casting, which I see as quite connected to print and pattern because you’re making copies and working in series. I’m developing a project in Thamesmead, London, and as part of that I’m creating a series of casts from plaques marking the route of the protest march following the murder of 15-year-old Roland Adams in 1991.
The casting process is interesting because I’m not making exact copies. There are changes to the text on each plaque, so it breaks that idea of casting as perfect repetition.
I’m also going to explore the technique further through a fellowship looking at the Benin Bronzes, thinking about histories of casting and the complex histories embedded in collections, particularly around restitution.
The Warp / The Weft / The Wake, 2024. Costume: dress, corset, petticoat, crinoline and undergarments. Screen printed woven cotton, cotton thread, steel boning, mother of pearl. Photo © Michael Pollard; Image courtesy of the artist and Manchester Art Gallery.
If you could collaborate with any maker, past or present, who would it be and why?
There are loads of makers I’d love to collaborate with, and some I’m already in conversation with about possible collaborations. Having recently worked with my mum, I have to say that was a really rich and valued experience. I’ve also collaborated with my sister, who is a musician, and I’d love to find the right opportunity to collaborate with my dad, who is an architect. I think those cross-disciplinary conversations could be really interesting. Hopefully one day I’ll get the chance to work with him.
What does a perfect day of making look like for you?
One of the things I struggle with most is the endless admin of emails, communications, and meetings. So an ideal studio day would be setting those things aside and having the space to focus on the creative work.
Because my practice is quite broad, that could take lots of forms like writing, material experiments, making, testing things out, drawing, developing ideas, or print experiments.
Those days are rare, but I really value them.
Thank you so much, Holly, for sharing these insights into your creative practice with us.
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Further Information:
The Warp / The Weft / The Wake by Holly Graham is on show now at Manchester Art Gallery until 6 September 2026.
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Image Credits:
Lead: The Warp/ The Weft/ The Wake dress on display at Manchester Art Gallery. Image courtesy of the artist Holly Graham and Manchester Gallery. Photo: Michael Pollard.
All further images as credited in captions.