Tangled Yarns at Cromford Mills

Cromford Mills is hosting Tangled Yarns, an exhibition by artist Alke Schmidt from Saturday, September 26, to Sunday, October 25, from 10am-4pm.

Following its acclaimed run at the William Morris Gallery in London, Tangled Yarns, a solo

exhibition by Alke Schmidt exploring the politics of cotton and the global textile industry, can now be seen at Cromford Mills, the world’s first successful water powered cotton spinning mill and the blueprint of modern factory production.

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Using both narrative and more abstract approaches, each work in the exhibition examines a different episode in the textile industry’s complex history. Combining found fabrics with painting, stitch or print, Schmidt examines issues of race and gender, exploitation and violence.

The earliest story is that of the violent campaign by English weavers against imported Indian cotton in the early 18th century, when gangs attacked women wearing patterned cotton gowns or petticoats; the most recent event explored by Schmidt is the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory building in 2013, which killed 1,138 Bangladeshi garment workers.

The exhibition also includes a new piece inspired by Cromford Mills and Sir Richard Arkwright’s inventions. Each piece incorporates a different fabric, chosen for its association with the story being told and used as a canvas, sculptural medium or object in itself.

For further details visit www.cromfordmills.org.uk