Woven Strands

2 layer screenprint on calico.
The inspiration for this piece is the part of the Liberties in Dublin 8 known as ‘Tenters’. It has this name because in the 16/1700s this area was home to ‘tenterfields’, which were part of the area’s wool, silk and poplin weaving industry. Tenterfields were fields in which the fabric was stretched out to dry in the sun, attached to large frames called ‘tenters’ with hooks called ‘tenterhooks’. There was already a weaving industry in this area in Dublin, but it developed even further with the arrival of Huguenot weavers in the late 17th century, they left France and mainland Europe because of religious persecution.

In this piece, the two strands represent the coming together of the existing Irish weavers with the Huguenots who arrived, and between them developed the weaving industry in the Liberties. The two strands are overlaid with the close up of woven threads representing the fabric woven in the area and dried in the tenterfields. The graphic nature of the print and the neon pink colour is intended to give a modern take on this piece of history. This piece is part of a series based on the Tenters area of the Liberties in Dublin 8.