Article of the Week - number thirteen

Heather Barnett is an English artist and researcher, working with natural phenomena and living systems to explore the world around us. We got to know of Heather through a project at the London School of Economics, BOX, of which we were part way back in 2005. 

A few years after the original project, after Heather had been to Shetland to give a talk about her involvement with the project, I received a 'phone call to ask if I would like to purchase some curtains from Small Worlds, a 2008 exhibition which took place at the History of Science Museum in Oxford. These were soon after added to the studio collection. 

To see the curtain design have a look at the exhibition page here. The picture on the right-hand side of that page is a detail from the printed velvet. This print has been made from close-up images of microscopic creatures: diatoms, fossils and shells. These have been arranged in patterns and then made into a repeat which has been printed onto this luxurious fabric.

The photographs on this page, courtesy of the artist, are of the representation of a parlour in the original exhibition in Oxford with the curtains in place.