Emily Grimble, C19 Text Talk (2020)

‘C19 Text Talk’ is a hand-embroidered diary, comprised of 50 text works, made over a period of 100 days since the enforcement of the UK lockdown on the 23rd March 2020.

Each work was made in direct response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, a combination of government guidelines, media quotations and my personal responses to the situation, which were shared with the public through Instagram.

The aim of the work was to raise awareness, encourage people to question their actions and to make informed decisions. For myself, the act of embroidering these messages allowed me to process the information in a time of crisis.

Materials – Calico, cottonDimensions – 8 x 16 cm (each)

A selection of Emily’s C19 Text Talk works…

‘A PAIR of Gloves’ is in response to the shameful tactics adopted by the Government to convince us they are doing all they can to protect key workers. BBC’s Panorama exposed the Government’s claim to have delivered one billion pieces of PPE as a shambles, revealing that single gloves are being counted as one item.

‘Community is Kindness’ is in response to the UK Government giving the go-ahead for millions of people to return to work that cannot work from home, before outlining how it would be safe to do so; making it clear that our wellbeing isn’t their priority and emphasising how we must make sensible decisions to protect those in our communities.

‘Ignore Boris – Listen to Sturgeon – Save Lives’ is in response to the infamous speech made by Johnson at a crucial moment where we were hoping for guidance, leaving us more confused than ever. The confusion enabled the Tories to pass all of the responsibility but none of the power onto the general public, in a bid to shift the blame for their countless mistakes.

‘We Are Not Disposable’ is in response to the UK Government’s expectation that key workers should still go to work despite the lack of PPE, highlighting the fact that key workers shouldn’t have to risk their lives to save ours.

‘X Marks the Spot‘

Biography

Emily Grimble (b.1995) is a Visual Artist and Designer based in London, who graduated from BA Jewellery Design at Central Saint Martins in 2017; where she was awarded the Best Use of Non-Precious Metals, selected by Simone Ten Hompel and the Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers alias Wire Workers. Selected exhibitions include; Insects (Galeria Alice Floriano, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 2018), Jewellery: The best young international jewellery designers, selected by Marzee (Museum Het Valkhof, Nijmegen, Netherlands, 2017-18) and Unpinned (The Foundling Museum, London, UK, 2015-16).