"Barns Graham" Tote Bag (Large - Blue) - Jenny Alderson
"Barns Graham" Tote Bag (Large - Blue) - Jenny Alderson
Jenny Alderson
"Barns Graham" Tote Bag (Large - Blue)
One-off
Repurposed Wilhelmina Barns-Graham: Earth, Wind & Fire Banner
46 x 38 x 19cm
Photo credit: Euan Lynn
This one-of-a-kind bag has been handcrafted by local artist-maker Jenny Alderson, from a PVC banner which advertised the exhibition Wilhelmina Barns-Graham: Earth, Wind & Fire at Gallagher & Turner.
Jenny has cleaned, cut, folded and stitched the robust PVC banner into a beautiful yet practical bag, complete with strong black handles and a canvas inner pocket large enough for a smartphone. Paying particular attention to the placement of Barns-Graham's paintings and the text on each of the bag's four sides, Jenny has ensured that the three bags made from this one banner each have their own unique colour palette and identity.
This bag was made with durability in mind, utilising the properties of the PVC it has been crafted from, and repurposes an object which would have otherwise been considered waste and most likely gone to landfill, whilst sharing the love of Wilhelmina Barns-Graham's vibrant Modernist abstraction.
Jenny Alderson is an artist and maker based at The NewBridge Project in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
"In my practice, I enjoy using a combination of everyday and leftover materials, giving the same attention to the off-cuts as the cuts, and finding authority and beauty in the abstract shapes and materials left behind from processes such as dressmaking and building. Often the starting point for a piece is an off-cut from a previous work or the dress-making process, or a found shape from a bought or found object. I like to combine materials from different worlds, questioning and challenging the hierarchies and connotations associated with materials and their colours. I am interested in barriers, boundaries and the points at which things meet – be they materials, ideas or spaces; as well as the power of a subtle gesture or element, such as a raw edge, a pin only just holding something in place, or the division of a space by just a thin piece of fabric.”