Historical Printed Textile c. 1940

This ‘Historical Printed Textile’ was made by Dorothy Dwin, who lived an exceptionally long life, from 1855 to 1995. In this work two painted triangular fragments meet on a neutral ground. The fragments are densely patterned with leaves and flowers, evoking the feel of something antique, weathered, like an old curiosity. I wonder about Dwin’s process? Did she have textiles to hand? Did she copy them freehand, reinterpreting? Or did she rely on memory? I like to think of her as a forager, gathering images and patterns that spoke to her and transforming them into something new. It feels like the kind of art-making where looking and thinking become one and the same. There’s something intriguing about the way the fragments are arranged, like pieces of a puzzle. Ultimately, I feel that Dwin is showing us painting’s capacity to not only represent the world, but to invite us to reimagine it.