London Youth
Empty Spaces
'A young person in London is twice as likely to be lonely as their counterparts elsewhere in the country.' ACEVO, 2015
Series of 1x1.5m hand-printed/hand-embroidered flags made in collaboration with embroiderer Hannah Mansfield. Inspired by the spirit of punk and single colour propaganda screen-prints of May 68 French revolution posters, the flags aim to raise awareness on the growing issue of youth isolation in London. Bold and abstract shapes are used to represent the fast pace and arguably overwhelming qualities of the city and its urban landscape. On the other hand, the word ‘youth’ often being paired with ‘golden’, Hannah and I decided to represent alienated millennials using a selection of threads and beads, from vibrant golds to rustier looking ones to translate the contrast between the saying and the possible challenges a young person in London might face today. The embroidery, placed in strategic places and small in scale, almost lost in the print is intended to emphasise a sense of entrapment and isolation, as we can especially see in the second design with the gold beads trapped in a metaphorical box.
Credits:
Embroidery: Hannah Mansfield aka The Perpetual Maker
Exhibition photography: John Taylor