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Relaxed View

Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art

— ,Art Gallery
Tschabalala Self, Koco at the Bodega, 2017.

We'll host a small number of relaxed viewings for anyone who'd prefer a more informal approach to noise and movement in the space, or who feels comfortable knowing that they can enter and exit freely.

Using textiles, fibre and thread, 50 international artists challenge power structures and reimagine the world in this major group exhibition.

Textiles cover and protect us, engage our senses, trigger our memories, represent our beliefs, hold our stories. We are wrapped in cloth when we’re born and enshrouded in it when we die.

As an artistic medium, textiles can speak to the joys and pains of being human, as well as the larger structures and systems that shape our world.

In this major group exhibition, 50 international, intergenerational artists use textiles to communicate vital ideas about power, resistance and survival. From intimate hand-crafted pieces to monumental sculptural installations, these works offer narratives of violence, imperialism and exclusion alongside stories of resilience, love and hope.

Tagged with: Art & design Unravel

Content note

Please be advised that some works in this exhibition contain nudity, some works contain references to forms of systemic violence including police brutality, sexual violence, colonialism, racism and the transatlantic slave trade. Please ask at the ticket desk for more information.

Update: works on display

Several works have been withdrawn as an act of solidarity with Palestine in response to the Barbican’s decision not to host the London Review of Books (LRB) Winter Lecture Series. We respect the decisions of the artists and lenders involved and you can read our statement on this here. The below list of participating artists shows the artists whose works have been withdrawn.

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