Alison Welsh

a. 2013 - Field to Fashion
Working in conjunction with Bhujodi master weaver Shamji Vishram Vankar, I am developing organic indigo fabric designs, which will blend British and Indian heritage cutting techniques with a more minimal western fashion sensibility. I am cutting the patterns myself, experimenting with shapes and grains to maximize the impact of the traditional woven patterns. [More Details...]

b. 2012 - Cotton Exchange - Another Peace
Cotton Exchange – Another Peace Another Peace is a site-specific installation, which explores the shared histories of cotton manufacture in Lancashire and Gujarat (and takes its title from the name of the Steam engine at Queen St. Mill, Peace. [More Details...]

c. 2011 to 2013 - Translating Tradition
Translating Tradition examined the pattern cutting methods used to construct traditional Gujarati menswear costumes; jamas, kediyun and angarakhas. The project asked the question; how might Indian tailors interpret and respond to a contemporary western translation of traditional Indian garments? Preliminary research into traditional Indian costume was undertaken in the Asian Department of the V&A, the Calico Museum of Textiles in Ahmedabad and the Pahari Miniature Paintings Collection at the Gujarat Museum, Ahmedabad. [More Details...]

d. 2010 - New Silk Road
A British Council project to facilitate an exchange of ideas and the sharing of experience between various British and Kazakhstan Fashion and Design representatives. This was a two week staff exchange programme with Kazakh National Academy of Arts. [More Details...]

e. 2010 - Flock
Flock was constructed in 2010, this garment combines elements of contemporary British and traditional Indian design. The research explores how it is possible to reference and celebrate the shared histories of these two cultures. [More Details...]

f. 2010 - Shroud
The work was undertaken within the context of the Pairings Project, which explored collaborative creative practice. Initiated by Alice Kettle and Alex McErlain at Manchester Metropolitan University, the aim of Pairings was to bring together makers from differing craft specialisms and institutions to work together on a joint collaborative project, in order to develop and expand their creative and research practices. [More Details...]

g. 2009 - 1838 & 1900 Smock
This project uses archive images of artists’ smocks as the catalyst for constructed textile narratives, which combine hand and digital stitching technologies to reference the history of Manchester School of Art. The archive photographs, dating from the 1920’s and 1930’s depict the original craft workshops at the School of Art, and contain an image of Adolphe Valette with one of his students, Charles Witham, wearing an artist’s smock. [More Details...]

h. 2008/2010 - Revive
This project explored the ways in which it is possible to reference and celebrate the shared histories of Britain and India, with a specific focus on the pattern cutting and construction methodology of Indian menswear, and its application to contemporary womenswear design. In 2008 Welsh took part in an Arts Council funded project ‘Design Camp’ in Ahmedabad, India. [More Details...]

i. 2007 - 1966 - Mud Angels
Both these pieces of work has been dipped in black ink and dye in response to the massive floods in Florence during 3rd and 4th of November 1966, when the River Arno burst its banks. The city received a third of the annual rainfall in two days, causing the river to rise by 11 meters. [More Details...]

j. 2007 - Slavery Now
Welsh’s constructed textile pieces incorporate hand dyed and machine embroidered figurative embroidery, to convey the plight and vulnerability of today’s trafficked children. She states ‘as the UK commemorates the bicentenary of Britain's abolition of the slave trade, today, thousands of women, men and children are in slavery in the UK as a result of being trafficked into a range of forced labour including forced prostitution, domestic servitude, agricultural work and food processing. [More Details...]

k. 2007 - Armchair Politico
Mechanical Drawing – the Schiffli Project ‘ARMCHAIR POLITICO/ SEAT OF LEARNING’ Alison Welsh and Stephen Dixon. 2006-2007. [More Details...]

l. 2005 - Surface Shape Structure
‘Surface Structure Shape’ 2005 Project Summary The Crafts Council held this exhibition to introduce British contemporary crafts for the interior at Roppongi's AXIS Gallery, showcasing the work of the 21 designer-makers selected to participate in the Crafts Council’s 2005 research visit to Japan. The exhibition was jointly organised with the British Council. [More Details...]