Judgement flew out the window with this collaborative item in the Tragedy Treasure and Trade exhibition. Such old fashioned collaborations are still popular with groups of textile artists, consuming a lot of time and effort from everyone, and someone goes to a great deal of trouble to finish the whole thing off; but the results rarely justify all this. In this particular exhibition, artworks and journals illustrating the stitchers’ common experiences of researching and learning were wonderfully sufficient.

Admittedly, each of the little thingies hanging off the lower edge of this panel is exquisite in itself, although there were a few too many tassels attached. Embroiderers love tassels. I didn’t make particular note, but recall something about each little thingy holds a clue as to something someone on the boat had with them, or something – see, this piece really did not engage much of my attention…..which is sad, because clearly a lot of time and effort was put in by those who contributed.

All the little oddly different sized panels along the bottom are interesting little embroideries, and the whole background is a map of the archipelago on which have been plonked other exquisitely executed little stitched things, in the design traditions of ancient maps. But many of those wonderful historic documents were not well balanced ‘designs’, either.