TRENDS

Find out who (and what) to buy, take a look at NFTs, and discover why tapestry is making a comeback

- Natasha Radmehr

1 DRESS YOUR WALLS FOR COLOUR AND WARMTH

Feeling the chill? Tapestries and wall hangings are enjoying a renaissance at the moment and can bring warmth, colour and texture to a room. Earlier this year, Etsy reported a 172% increase in searches for tufted wall decor; a response to soaring fuel bills, possibly, but also part of the shift away from stark white interiors towards the creation of cosy, multilayered environments.

One of this year's most celebrated artworks has undoubtedly been Alberta Whittle's Deep Dive (Pause) Uncoiling Memory, an installation by the Barbadian-Scottish artist comprising film, sculpture and tapestry presented at the 2022 Scotland + Venice Biennale. The tapestry, titled Entanglement is More Than Blood, was developed by weavers at Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh and explores migration, trade and climate colonialism. Dovecot director Celia Joicey notes an increasing use of the medium of tapestry to convey important perspectives that previously haven't been given oxygen in the art world: "We have another tapestry underway at the moment with Christine Borland which will celebrate the legacy of the Edinburgh Seven, who were the first women in Britain to go to university," she says. Borland's design, she adds, has been created using digital media and is an example of "a very traditional medium's boundaries being pushed in new and exciting ways".

Another example of an artist mixing textiles with technology is Rachel Maclean, who designed two rugs which Dovecot's tufters worked on from digital images (you can see one of the rugs, Save Mi, on the previous page).