A TAPESTRY OF DALSTON 2010
A COMMUNITY PROJECT CELEBRATING THE MUNDANE AND THE MAGNIFICENT
\\\ A TAPESTRY OF DALSTON ///
Bringing together a cross-section of handpicked, Dalston-based creatives, we briefed each to conceive & produce a pattern-based piece, taking inspiration from the many historical & cultural influences that the area encompasses.
The artists were asked to consider the patterns & textures that surround them daily ‘from the mundane to the magnificent’& use them to develop original one-off works.
Displayed together these pieces represent a tapestry of the area – from day into night – by its resident creatives.
“Our aim with A TAPESTRY OF DALSTON is to showcase, through the medium of pattern, the creative talent that abounds in Hackney, giving those individuals the cultural melting pot of their home neighbourhood as inspiration. As with all our work at Patternity, we encourage people to seek out, appreciate & enjoy pattern everywhere – then use this to bring about something original & exciting” Anna Murray // Patternity
ULTRA VIOLET
The basement & street level lighting up & down the Kingsland Road was also a significant source of inspiration for the lighting of the exhibition for the private view. From dawn to dusk, the illumination & pattern of activity changes by the hour, as with the gallery. Seasonal variations play their part: sunshine or cloud gives way to UV lighting as the day fades.
Each work is set in its own time-frame. The pieces produced take on a new presence under the lighting so synonymous with the area. The end result; a tapestry of pattern & light, inspired by Dalson & created by those who live their lives there.
12 Months a year in Dalston
12 Dalston based creatives
12 Everyday starting points
12 Magnificent patterned outcomes
A TAPESTRY OF DALSTON 2010
LACE LOCK IN
\\\ PATTERNITY STUDIO ///
There is at once an openness & closedness about the Dalston area. A place of extreme contrasts.
By day the outdoor markets bustle with texture & life & a tangible sense of community – a wonderfully rich & diverse melting pot. After hours & beneath street level it takes on a new dimension -with the often unnoticed basement goings-on that continue long into the night. We wanted to explore these juxtapositions; looking at the interplay of light & dark, opaque & transparent, overt & hidden. The traditional lace curtains that fill many of the windows & market stalls off the Kingsland Rd embody this beautifully to us. The formidable metal diamond security shutters are in stark contrast to the delicate Turkish lace beneath – made up from the broken down elements of our Patternity logo. The light filters through & osbscures – at once shutting off the outside world yet also giving an einticing glimpse into what lies beneath
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MEAT FEAST
\\\ LOUISE NOWELL ///
For me, everything that is Dalston is Kingsland road.
All the cultures from Turkish through to Vietnamese are condensed into a tiny stretch of a few 100 yards. In particular, i’ve homed in on the one thing they all have in common, their shared love of meat. My pattern is a construction of some of these meats based around the simplified vanishing view of Kingsland road. The majority of the image is covered by a meat product called Caul [the fatty membrane of an animal’s stomach] which is used for wrapping meats into parcels. In my design I’m metaphorically wrapping everything that is Dalston
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REALMS OF GLAM
\\\ AUDREY ROGER ///
I’ve always found the traditional African fabrics that overflow in Ridley Road market very striking & modern with their bold graphic patterns. That & the extravagant glistening gold jewellery hanging in all corners of the market were the starting points for this piece
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KLINGSLAND ROAD
\\\ KAROLINA KLING ///
This piece illustrates an aerial view of Dalston – with the junction at the centre. I interpreted traditional graphic elements which reflect the multicultural melting pot of the area – among them; South Africa, Turkey, Israel, England, Egypt, Kenyna & Jamaica. I then patched them together forming a textured map of my neighbourhood
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NEW WEAVING PLUS DIVINE SHANGHAI
\\\ COLIN HENDERSON ///
The idea was to create my interpretation of the hair posters displayed in the barbers & hairdressers in Dalston. I also noticed the decor in local Chinese restaurant ‘Shanghai’ & in particular the Victorian tiles they have behind the counter. I decided to use the pattern in the tiles as a way to incorporate the many hairstyles & types of weave I had seen into a tapestry of hair
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FIFTY-TWO WEEKS A YEAR
\\\ INVENTORY STUDIO ///
We wanted to explore how living/working in the Dalston area had affected our lifestyles. So we looked into ‘Pattern’ as being defined as a representative sample & an arrangement of repeated parts & then threw in a bit of chaos theory for good measure; how when we look at any random sample long enough (in this case 1 year) patterns of behaviour will become apparent.
We created a ‘typical week’ which included visits to local restaurants, pubs and clubs and using only typographic styling & a few small details we visualised this week & then repeated it exactly 52 times to fill a year. As we did this repeat, patterns in our behaviour literally started to emerge…
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MANGAL FACE
\\\ DAN HAS POTENTIAL ///
The main reason I go to Dalston is to eat, so my piece acts as a homage to the Turkish restaurants; notably Somine & Mangal that pepper the area. The layers & shapes of the sweaty meat are central to the piece added to by other commonly found Turkish foods & symbols
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DALSTANIMALS
\\\ JAKE BLANCHARD ///
Although there may not be a huge number of animals roaming the streets in Dalston, you can certainly find depictions of them everywhere. This piece is inspired by the animals you can find on restaurant signs, fast food joints, shops & in other public spaces. It gives an insight into the cultural background of many of Dalston’s inhabitants & more pertinently their eating habits.
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JAZZY JUMBLE
\\\ MARCUS OAKLEY ///
In early march on a rather rainy day I walked down Kingsland Road. As I walked, I looked up & down, inside & outside: I saw dogs strolling, cars moving, busy people & non busy people. All manner of objects, shapes & other things. I based my pattern on the fuzzy energy of what I saw & felt whilst walking down the road
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BARGAIN BERGAMA
\\\ MELVIN GALAPON ///
Weaving up & down the Kingsland road – it was the wonderful array of shops so omnipresent in Dalston that served as the inspiration behind my piece. Notably the Pound/Bargain Shops & Carpet/Furniture shops with their shelves stacked to the rafters with goods. I noticed the visual connection to the weave in the traditional carpets & tiling from the Suleymaniye Mosque.
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BUS LINES
\\\ YANN BRIEN ///
As I live and work at opposite ends of Hackney, I spend quite a lot of time crisscrossing Dalston’s vibrant neighbourhood using the bus network, either early in the day or very late at night.
Taking all the different buses going through Dalston (30, 38, 56, 67, 76, 149, 236, 242, 243, 277), I converted each of these numbers into an equivalent array of lines (236, 236 lines…).
When superimposing these groups on a grid representing a whole day& placing each “bus” at the time when I generally use it, rhythms started to emerge as I tried to represent visually these countless hours spent daydreaming in Dalston, stranded at a bus stop & waiting for an elusive bus to arrive
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OFFALY GOOD
\\\ JAMES DAWE ///
There is something very special about the colourful & chaotic Ridley Road Market. Here you can find a diverse mix of stalls selling produce & goods from various ethnic backgrounds. Assorted cultures collide & merge – next to the skinned sheeps heads on the North African/Turkish counters are beautifully textured & patterned pieces of dried offal. These were the starting point for my illustration. Then, to portray the concoction of patterns that Ridley Road throws at you I integrated strange fruits & fishnet tights, which could then be developed into an intricate repeat
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\\\ SCREEN PRINTS ///
A very limited edition run of black & white screen prints are available to buy, please contact
E// info@patternity.co.uk
T// +44 (0)7967538019
For general info about PATTERNITY & A TAPESTRY OF DALSTON
E// info@patternity.co.uk
A special thank-you to everyone who participated in & supported the exhibition!
PRIVATE VIEW PICTURES BY RORY DCS