(To read our feature on The Creatures of the Mappa Mundi exhibition, click here.)
In a world class exhibition from a world class artist, 50 per cent of the pieces were hand-stitched by everyday, community groups in Herefordshire. Talented, diligent community groups, but amateur artists all the same, trusted with reproducing the plans of a man whose work hangs – or stands – in some of the most prestigious galleries in the world.
Rose-tinted Rags, a vintage textile upcycling company that works with Hereford charity Echo to help adults with learning disabilities produce unique a range of beautiful pieces, Creative Ageing - which for almost ten years has engaged older people with arts workshops - and a group a young artists from HCA each worked with the Shonibaré Studio to reproduce one of the quilts for Creatures of the Mappa Mundi.
Yinka Shonibaré said: “It’s very important that art is accessible. And it’s very important that everyone can feel a sense of participating.
“I also like the fact that the people of Hereford did actually make this project. I really wanted the project to have some kind of relevance to the community, and I didn’t want to sort of parachute myself in, do the project and go away again.
“I feel that art is a fantastic way to get people together, to get people talking. So I think it’s absolutely apt for the project to be in Hereford – and it would be great if the project could be seen elsewhere in the region as well.”
The exhibition will be at the Cathedral until June (normal admission to the Mappa Mundi applies). The project focusses on characters around the edges of the medieval map – the Monstrous Races – which were based on legend and retold stories of nations far from 14th Century England.
Shonibaré picked out those characters and blew them up, giving each its own brightly-coloured quiltwork.
“Hopefully I’m producing something beautiful, but also not just beautiful – the project will I hope will raise a number of issues about xenophobia, about how we think about people who are not like us,” the Turner-nominated artist said, himself a British-Nigerian who uses a wheelchair after an illness at 18 restricted his mobility.
”I know that a lot of young people are, particularly now, body-conscious. There are people who think they might be different, and how do we treat people who are different than us? That’s really the key.
“I think that this is a project highlighting that, but also a project about tolerance.
“I don’t really like the word tolerance, but I think just treating people in the way you would like to be treated yourself. You are not really tolerating people. You’re just being normal, really.”
The Creatures of the Mappa Mundi exhibition is open Monday – Saturday, 10am – 4pm. It was commissioned by Meadow Arts and supported by the Herefordshire’s a Great Place Project.
For more about Rose-Tinted Rags, contact them via their Facebook Page here, for info on Creative Ageing, visit the Courtyard’s website here and click here to find out about courses and news at the HCA.