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Catherine Howard

MA Design and Applied Arts

Behind closed doors

I have been researching the silk ribbon collection at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry looking for a way to bring the ribbons to the attention of the community.   There are hundreds of ribbons stored away which bear witness to the skill and hard work of an average  ten thousand workers in the 18th and 19th centuries, who worked in poor conditions for little pay.

The installation comprises 120 moths each decorated with different ribbon to celebrate the huge range of pattern and colour that the workforce was capable of producing.   Each moth represents 75 workers and the text is taken from a sample book that was annotated showing the highs and lows of making a living.  The number and colour of the moths diminishes as they fly away out of the archive box  to represent  the collapse of the industry in 1810. 

 

 

 

 

 

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