Lost in lace

I took a trip to Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery to visit the exhibition 'Lost in Lace'. This exhibition was all about new approaches to lace and the use of materials. When I think about what was on display in a wider context it opened my eyes to how far you can push an idea or how something as traditional as lace can be reinvented. 

This lace wall was designed and made by a French artist Annie Bascoul. The piece is based on the traditional French lace making technique Alencon, however the whole thing has been hugely scaled up and very thick yarn has been used. I liked the way the shrub like pattern tumbled across the expanse of the lace wall, although distorted you could still see where the pattern had originated from. Once you walked through the archway, you came across a floating bed instillation, the whole thing was rather romantic, it was after all based on the 16th century poem le may. I find the the combination of new and old in this work fascinating and very inspiring, the poem and Alencon lace are age old yet they have been edited and brought to my attention in a very contemporary way.