Event category: Exhibition

To coincide with the exhibition The Legend of King Arthur: A Pre-Raphaelite Love Story, William Morris Gallery commissioned London-based contemporary artist Joy Gregory to create an installation exploring international myths and legends.

In response to King Arthur’s male-dominated round table of knights, Joy Gregory’s textile installation explores the role of women in folklore, myths and legends. The printed and embroidered textile forms a tent illustrated with stories where women are fierce protagonists.

A British photographer of Jamaican heritage, Gregory’s practice is concerned with social and political issues that reference cultural differences, language endangerment and overlooked histories. Her work encourages interaction, you are invited to read a book, share a story with others or engage with the illustrations.

Note: This temporarily installation will remain in place after the King Arthur exhibition closes in January (end date to be confirmed).

Image: Installation photography by Nicola Tree for William Morris Gallery 

The Legend of King Arthur: A Pre-Raphaelite Love Story explores the legend of King Arthur within the Victorian imagination, presenting national myths and legends through the eyes of Pre-Raphaelite artists.

King Arthur is a central figure in English folklore, a fictional 5^th century ruler who led his famous knights in various battles and quests. The Arthurian stories are told through numerous works by various authors from the 9^th century onwards. The telling and retelling of the legend culminated in the English author Thomas Malory writing down the stories in a single work in 1485, Le Morte d’Arthur.

The Arthurian legends fell out of interest at the end of the Middle Ages but were rediscovered in the early 19^th Century, initially by poets such as Walter Scott and Alfred Tennyson. William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones read these poems obsessively whilst at Oxford University and drew from them – and the myths that inspired them – for artistic projects throughout their careers.

This exhibition tells the Arthurian stories as presented by Malory, through the work of Pre-Raphaelite artists Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Arthur Hughes, John William Waterhouse and William Morris alongside lesser known female Pre-Raphaelite artists Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale and Elizabeth Siddal. The show will introduce audiences to the Arthurian legend within the context of reawakened interest in medievalism in Victorian England.

Curated by Natalie Rigby, Falmouth Art Gallery and Ainsley Vinall, William Morris Gallery, this is the exhibition’s first stop on a nationwide tour of locations associated with King Arthur. Following its debut at the William Morris Gallery, the exhibition will tour to Tullie House, Carlisle in February 2023 before finishing its run at Falmouth Art Gallery in Cornwall in June 2023. This exhibition was made possible with Art Fund support and is also kindly supported by Visit Cornwall, Visit England and Cornwall Museums Partnership.

To coincide with the exhibition, the William Morris Gallery has commissioned London-based contemporary artist Joy Gregory to create an installation exploring international myths and legends. Visit the installation upstairs in our Story Lounge. Read more

Image: The Arming and Departure of the Knights Tapestry, Morris & Co., (1891-4)

Ashish’s first retrospective shines – British Vogue

Ashish’s new show is fashion serotonin – Dazed

A glittering testament to a fashion genius – The Conversation

A bright and healing balm for troubled times – Woo Magazine

Originally trained in fine art, he studied fashion design at Central Saint Martins, London, founding his eponymous label in 2001. Ashish has established a reputation for high-glamour outfits designed in his studio in East London and then hand-made by skilled artisans at his small workshop in Delhi.

Ashish’s practice includes a broad range of cultural and design references, embracing both American and European fashion histories and indigenous textile traditions from across the world. Ashish’s designs often challenge preconceptions of materials and techniques, interrogating the construction of cultural identities and the ways in which clothes send signals about their wearer.

In recent years Ashish’s work has engaged more explicitly with ideas around global exchange and the complex cultural relationships between India and Britain. In both the clothes themselves and how they are presented within his photographic campaigns and fashion presentations, key South Asian reference points are increasingly pronounced and celebrated. Ashish’s signature use of colour reflects his belief in the ability of clothing to bring joy to its wearers and create a space in which different identities become unashamedly, luminescently visible.

Ashish’s use of fashion as a site for social and political engagement will be highlighted through examples of some of the politicised slogans for which the designer is best known. These will include designs emblazoned with ‘MORE GLITTER LESS TWITTER’ devised in response to the election of President Trump 2016 and a new version of his celebrated ‘IMMIGRANT’ t-shirt.

Ashish is a pioneering voice within the creative industries for his long-term commitment to inclusion and equitable representation. The exhibition will also spotlight Ashish’s Autumn Winter 2017 collection ‘The Yellow Brick Road’. Inspired by The Wizard of Oz (1939), a film that holds an iconic place within Queer culture. The season drew on an interpretation of the film by the Indian-born writer Salman Rushdie which interprets the story as an exploration of migration and an individual’s ability to determine how they identify ‘home’.

Like William Morris, traditional handcraft skills and techniques are at the heart of Ashish’s design and the context of the William Morris Gallery allows Ashish’s work to be considered within a dialogue of artisanship, adornment and thoughtful production processes. Each individual sequin is hand sewn on an embroidery frame by highly skilled artisans at Ashish’s workshop in Delhi – a process which can take anywhere from a few days to over a week depending on the piece.

The exhibition will feature a major new commission by the Mumbai-based photographer and film-maker Ashish Shah (b. Dehradun, 1984). Working within a genre which has limited precedent other than the aesthetic conventions and expectations imported and emulated from European and American fashion documentation, Shah is part of an exciting generation of photographers creating a new language of image-making. Shot on location in India and London; Shah’s film and photography commission will explore the intricacy of global movement and the ways in which Ashish’s garments navigate the complex cultural relationships between India and the West. The new commission will also contextualise Ashish’s work from a decolonising perspective, offering a counterpoint to the Western gaze that dominates much fashion documentation and photography.

Ashish: Fall in Love and Be More Tender is co-curated by Roisin Inglesby and Joe Scotland

Ashish Shah’s commission is supported by the Art Fund

The exhibition is kindly supported by the Lizzie & Jonathan Tisch Foundation

About Ashish
Ashish Gupta (b. Delhi, 1973) is a celebrated voice in international fashion. He has won the prestigious NEWGEN award three times and has been included in major exhibitions and presentations at The Victoria & Albert Museum, London and The Metropolitan Museum, New York. Ashish’s designs have been worn by global icons including Beyonce, Debbie Harry, Hunter Schafer, Rihanna, Charli XCX and Taylor Swift.

Image: Photographer and copyright Ashish Shah, 2022.

Fall in Love and Be More Tender, a film by Ashish Shah

(Please note: There is some swearing in this video)