I was so excited to check out the Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery Exhibition at London’s iconic Bargehouse.
Hand & Lock is one of London’s premier embroidery house since 1767.
Unsurprisingly, their clients include the Royal family, Armed forces and even Savile Row.
The exhibition was a showcase of embroidery talents from both emerging and known designers.
The piece above is by the renowned designer, Yinka Ilori.
The Hand & Lock Prize was first established in 2000 and is an annual prestigious event.
The competition was therefore a great way for designers to gain more exposure and experience in the world of embroidery.
As a result, many previous winners have successfully been able to start their own businesses or join top design houses.
This year’s competition brief was ” Digital Doppelgangers in a Virtual Universe”.
Below are a few that caught my eye and interestingly also the winners of this year’s competition:
This stunning dress is by Tatiana Rodina, the winner of this year’s Fashion Open category. Her piece is called The Heyday and explores the questions of what is common between a QR-code and embroidery and if it was posssible to use them as a form of art.
This beautifully hand stitched self portrait featuring online images of ancestors is by Lesley wood.
It’s called “Digital Shadows of Self”. Lesley is this year’s winner of the Textile Open Category.
This is Rachel Ellenbogen, winner of this year’s Fashion student category.
She’s standing next to her embroidered dress called ‘Separating Myself from 9 years of Social Media’.
The dress explores her experience and relationship with social media as a pivotal part in her development.
This is Kate Pankhurst’s Lockdown O’clock.
It’s about the flight of time in lockdown against the analogous slowness of the moon.
Kate is this year’s winner of the Textile Student category.
This is called e-chips by Alicja Kozlowska.
It’s an interpretation of how virtual symbols could misrepresent an intended message.
Last but not least, is this exhibit called Odysseys of Grief by Rebecca Offredi.
The embroidered crowns represent the different stages of grief and loss, and how they may stay hidden in today’s digital world.
Above was just a little taster of what there was to see.
The number of creative talents under one roof was just incredible.
There were talks and workshops too.
Finally, the exhibition will only be running till this Sunday 7th November 2021, therefore I highly recommend you to catch it before it goes.
You can purchase your tickets here.
( All photography are by Geraldine Tan, editor of Little Big Bell).