This tapestry was inspired by the medieval tapestries I saw during my travels as a Winston Churchill Fellow and the medieval frescos I saw in Bulgaria. Many I saw depicted various Marys weeping over Christ but it occurred to me one would not be caught weeping in front of the murderers of one’s loved one, but as an accuser one would look back with dignity and a spine of oak. The idea had a personal resonance with me and this is the result, I as the weaver, and also a Mary (my middle name) gets to look out through them. The medieval images are known as the Lamentation of Christ, and I have called this The Lamentation as a nod to the original source.
This tapestry was inspired by the medieval tapestries I saw during my travels as a Winston Churchill Fellow and the medieval frescos I saw in Bulgaria. Many I saw depicted various Marys weeping over Christ but it occurred to me one would not be caught weeping in front of the murderers of one’s loved one, but as an accuser one would look back with dignity and a spine of oak. The idea had a personal resonance with me and this is the result, I as the weaver, and also a Mary (my middle name) gets to look out through them. The medieval images are known as the Lamentation of Christ, and I have called this The Lamentation as a nod to the original source.
This tapestry was inspired by the medieval tapestries I saw during my travels as a Winston Churchill Fellow and the medieval frescos I saw in Bulgaria. Many I saw depicted various Marys weeping over Christ but it occurred to me one would not be caught weeping in front of the murderers of one’s loved one, but as an accuser one would look back with dignity and a spine of oak. The idea had a personal resonance with me and this is the result, I as the weaver, and also a Mary (my middle name) gets to look out through them. The medieval images are known as the Lamentation of Christ, and I have called this The Lamentation as a nod to the original source.
Chrissie Freeth
Handwoven Tapestries
As an archaeologist I have been interested in historical textiles for twenty years and first learned to weave on a warp-weighted loom as an undergraduate. Although I went on to earn a PhD, I gradually left academia to weave full-time. As my artistic practice developed the long view has remained crucial to my work. Thanks to a WCMT Fellowship, I travelled across Europe and to the US to study collections of medieval tapestries to better understand the techniques used by weavers at the zenith of tapestry production.
I am an associate member of the APPG for Craft and a former trustee of Heritage Crafts, a national charity that safeguards craft skills. I have exhibited at the Royal Academy, ARTAPESTRY6 which showcases the best contemporary tapestry in Europe and have been shortlisted for the Cordis Prize, the most prestigious prize in contemporary tapestry.
In 2026 I was awarded a grant by Arts Council England funded by the National Lottery to further explore full-scale tapestry weaving and this summer my exhibition Good Women will be at Kelmscott Manor, William Morris's summer home int he Cotswolds.
I live and work in Saltaire, West Yorkshire, once a model village to house the workers of a colossal textile mill and now a thriving creative community and World Heritage Site.
