Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art

We joined The Barbican Art Gallery as exhibition build partner for Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art, opened in February 2024.

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Co-curated by the Barbican and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, this major group exhibition presents work by 50 international, intergenerational artists using textiles to communicate vital ideas about power, resistance and survival. 

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From intimate hand-crafted pieces to monumental sculptural installations, the works offer narratives of violence, imperialism and exclusion alongside stories of resilience, love and hope.

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We worked with the gallery to develop their installation requirements in rigorous detail, bringing a meticulous level of craft to the furniture and fittings used to display the work.

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Working to the highest levels of gallery standard we included features such as humidity control features in vitrines and gallery-spec lighting.

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We assumed a coordination role, carefully planning works programmes and design schedules for collating required information from the numerous artists for whom we were producing elements integral to the pieces.

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We developed a custom system for this show, to reduce waste materials, add efficiencies to the tight build schedule, and reduce manual handling on site.

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We provided an in-depth environmental study for this system, comparing the carbon footprint with conventional building systems to establish a benefit.

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