Connecting Yarn makes visible the complex and mathematical science of yarn dyeing.
An artist that works at the crossroads of data and drawing, Manchester-based artist Daksha Patel’s practice extends to printmaking, animation and installation to visualise what is immeasurable, illusive and unseen. Partnered with Blackburn Yarn Dyers, Patel took direct inspiration from the science of yarn dyeing – a reaction to the intricacies of the factory’s colour mixing lab.
I’m interested in the hidden geographies that link Blackburn’s textiles industries to different places: chemical dye manufacturing to yarn dying; garment design to production. – Daksha Patel
During her intense residency, the artist worked side by side with expert yarn dyers who continue the heritage of the factory, founded in 1915 and still provide yarn dyeing to clients worldwide from the heart of Lancashire. Using wool, light manipulation and found objects from the factory floor, this series of sculptural structures explores the relationship between the fibres and chemical process, particularly the protein molecule, keratin – found in wool, whilst gently exploring the long history of women’s work inside the factory and craft work at home.
In the textile world art and creativity work together with manufacturing all of the time. It is the designer’s creativity that imagines and develops products that require us to make ‘reality’ in product. I believe that art and creativity is important in any manufacturing, especially textiles. – Anthony Green, Blackburn Yarn Dyers
The Artist
Daksha Patel is an artist who works at the crossroads of data and drawing with a practice that extends to printmaking, animation and installation. Colour, light and mapping are emerging themes in Patel’s work, which has also been influenced by a series of residencies in scientific environments, including LifeScience at the University of Dundee and The Christie Hospital in Manchester. Her work makes visible what is immeasurable, illusive and unseen.
The Manufacturer
Blackburn Yarn Dyers was founded in 1915, providing yarn dyeing to clients worldwide from the heart of Lancashire. Working with leading fashion and interiors brands in the UK and internationally, the company offers a range of products and services in support of the textile industry as well as hand-knitting and craft brands, with dyeing and bleaching remaining at the core of its trade.
