National Gallery - The Mirror, The Hoop
I was invited by The National Gallery to devise and deliver a workshop for ages 14-19 as part of their Uncover Workshop Programme. The programme invites artists with varied practice to explore a theme from their current exhibition.
In my case, delivered a workshop inspired by Reflections: Van Eyck and the Pre-Raphaelites exhibitions.
I invited participants to delve into the mirror. Inspired by Mark Gertler's painting which borrows from the Arnofini portrait. Working with a miniature convex mirror, the young artists sketched reflections of themselves at work.
Mark Gertler, Still-Life with Self-Portrait, 1918
The group produced a series of timed self-portraits, focusing on outline and distorted composition. These circular studies were then transferred into embroidery, a medium celebrated by the arts and crafts movement and referenced in several depictions of Lady Shalott - as seen in the exhibition.
The circular motif of the mirror is carried through to the embroidery hoop. They produced a striking collection of self-portraits in thread.