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
Selected Post-Fellowship Tapestries
Studying first hand techniques used by weavers at the zenith of tapestry production has had a dramatic impact on my work and I now use single coloured bobbins and rely on traditional, more formal techniques. I am also fascinated by the use of symbolism as a short-hand to tell a story, and the double meanings that could often be read into historical tapestries. The work is narrative in nature with an economy and honesty that provides the feel of the medieval without being pastiche, and something of a fairy-tale, albeit of a darker and pensive quality.
Mid-Sized Tapestries
I prefer to work on a large scale, for me tapestry is a mural art and that is what suits the medium best. However I also appreciate this is not always practical for display today or affordable. In 2022 work began on a series of mid sized tapestries. More details to follow soon.
Selected Pre-Fellowship Tapestries
Prior to my Fellowship I struggled with the rigidity of tapestry, unable to reach the levels of expressiveness that the grid of warp and weft makes difficult. My response was to create quite painterly tapestries using multiple blends of yarn on the bobbin to create the illusion of a figure sinking/rising from the background often as a metaphor for themes such as survival and rebirth.
