UNmaking: An Exploration of Process and Practice
Constance Howard Gallery, Goldsmiths, London SE14 6NW
16 February – 27 March 2026
Museum in the Park, Stroud GL5 4AF
12 September – 8 November 2026
Why "UNmaking"
We build our skills through experience, and as a result, our material knowledge and understanding become embodied in the work itself. There is a deep connection here, where materiality explored over time through repetitive action builds tacit knowledge, an embodied understanding that textile artists can often take for granted.
UNmaking challenges this. It’s not simply about taking something apart; it’s a deliberate act of deconstruction that can be a powerful journey of discovery. It asks us to question our assumptions and to explore new directions by embracing the process of unravelling, cutting, and unpicking. UNmaking invites us to consider if a work, poised on the verge of disintegration or collapse, can be acceptable as complete, and what it means to an audience if we present a piece that is somewhere between made and unmade.
UNmaking is a thinking process. It’s an act of revealing and understanding. By exploring the concept of unmaking, we can learn when something is truly finished and how to push our creative boundaries. As a community of curious, inquisitive makers, we believe in sharing ideas about process with intention. UNmaking is an opportunity to review, reflect, and refine our work, allowing us to take a moment to interrogate why we create.
The work in this exhibition will deliberately evolve over time and across venues. The concept of unmaking intends to show work at different stages of the making/unmaking journey and the artists will continue to develop the work as their practice shifts and process is explored further. This is expands the opportunities of a touring show.
Seven Bags Full
Part of the British Textiles Biennial 2025, Seven Bags Full was an exhibition of mixed media and textile works by 16 members of the Textile Study Group, responding to the biennial themes and using polyester fabric offcuts from Blackburn based Edward Taylor Textiles, who specialise in the production of sportswear.
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