Deirdre Nelson 2005
Photo Simon Beesley
Ironers and Shakers - New work by Deirdre Nelson
Thursday 9 February to Friday 31 March 2006
Monday to Saturday 10am to 5.30pm
Wednesday 10am to 2pm
Offsite exhibition at
Units 90 and 91 Granville Arcade
6th Avenue Brixton Village Market
Coldharbour Lane
London SW9 8PS
Nearest Tube: Brixton (Victoria Line)
As part of its ongoing Homespun exhibition programme, London Printworks Trust presents Ironers and Shakers, an exhibition by Deirdre Nelson.
Nelson’s work for Ironers and Shakers explores the relationship between food and textiles, using the Walton Lodge Laundry in Coldharbour Lane and the surrounding Granville Arcade in the heart of Brixton market as its focal point. Ironers and Shakers is Nelson’s first solo exhibition in London.
Nelson’s new works include a revolving tablecloth (so that visitors can hand-crank a length of cloth and discover new dining stories) a linen dispenser (that many of us remember from our schooldays as a roller towel) an animated film of the laundry process made collaboratively with rm*; a series of cotton reels cast in soap; sets of folded napkins and tablecloths printed and embroidered with anecdotes and snippets of historical information about the laundry process. How many of us, for example, knew that women laundry workers were originally paid in barrels of beer in exchange for their labour? The title Ironers and Shakers refers to the process in the steam laundry where women would shake the still damp cloths out before they went through the giant pressing machines. All the cloth in Nelson’s show is second-hand - carrying the marks of previous users, and all of it was bought exclusively on eBay.
Deirdre Nelson was born in Northern Ireland and after studying at Glasgow School of Art, is now based there. She has exhibited widely and has been involved in public art commissions including work at Gibside Estate in Northumberland. Her 2005 solo show at the Collins Gallery at the University of Strathclyde – The Dangers of Sewing and Knitting - brought many of her recent projects together for the first time. She has been a visiting tutor at several Scottish art colleges and has worked with a wide range of people through successful community art projects. Nelson is currently working with the GBDM Design Management team for the New Shetland Museum and Archive.
Ironers and Shakers
Read Deirdre’s thoughts on working in Brixton during her six month residency with London Printworks Trust.
Ironers and Shakers is part of London Printworks Trust’s Homespun programme kindly funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Arts Council England, Scottish Arts Council, Lambeth Arts, Awards for All and Inches Carr Trust.