Guest Blog Post by Anne Marr, Course Leader of BA Textile Design, Central Saint Martins and co-curator of the exhibition Real Dirty Blue.
Real Dirty Blue brings together 26 designers who taught or studied on planet Central Saint Martins from 1927 to 2016.
The title of the show originates from a well-thumbed dye book by wood block printer Joyce Clissold which offers a ‘live’ snapshot into 1930s textile alchemy: no two pages are the same, transcending a real sense of trial and error from the dye splatters that intersperse the notes and dye recipes. Colours have been labeled with witty names, leaving it open to imagine 50 shades of “Celestial Dirt” for example.
This inspired Central Saint Martins’ Weave Pathway Leader Philippa Brock to explore Joyce’s “Real Dirty Blue” and she initiated a research investigation with Matthew Clark from the Society of Dyers and Colourists to recreate this true vintage recipe. Not familiar with some of the ‘antiquated’ ingredients such as
Helio,
Safflower and
Auramine, Matthew matched them with today’s Colour Index generic names and was able to recreate the original shade.
The results will be revealed in the exhibition together with many other fascinating textile projects – including highly inventive textile research and early prototypes, many which have not been shown in public before.
The show has been curated into four key themes; 2D to 3D, Digital Pioneers, Happy Accidents and Material Artisans. Highlights include Malcolm Cocks’ vibrant 1990s digital prints, Nadia-Anne Ricketts' musical jacquard weave, Marta Velascos Velasco’s painterly sound tiles as well as Derek Lawlor' s sculptural knit garments.
Other Designers on display:
Howard Asher, Laura Baker, Philippa Brock, Susan Campbell, Carole Collet, Eileen Ellis, Linda Florence, Skye Gwillim, Mary Harper, Rosemary House, Jessica Hyams, Sue Jenkyn Jones, Derek Lawlor, Anne Marr & Rebecca Hoyes, Jaimee McKenna, George Morgan, Elain Ng Yan Ling, Calire O’Brien, Harriet Paynter, Jo Pierce, Stephanie Rolph, Rebecca Skelton, Anne Smith, Lorna Smith, Studio Houndstooth, Priti Veja
Real Dirty Blue
23 Febuary - 1 April
Lethaby Gallery, Central Saint Martins, 1 Granary Square, King's Cross, London, N1C 4AA
Tuesday – Friday
11am – 6pm
Saturday
12 – 5pm
