Taking Your Love of Linen To Work
Linen Biennale’s Communications Coordinator Angela McMahon tells us about what brought her to the Linen Biennale 2023 and reflects on her experiences over the last few months.
Back in June when summer promised to be glorious rather the washout it became, an old friend dropped me a line about a Comms role at an arts and heritage festival celebrating linen in Northern Ireland. She had correctly concluded it would be right up my street.
My fascination with linen had started in childhood – elderly relatives’ lace-trimmed traycloths, ornate linen chair-covers framing their faces, the special occasions when granny’s damask tablecloth dressed the dining table along with her best china. I was mesmerised by linen, loved its weight and lustre. I imagined walking down the aisle one day in a dress made from it – of course my mum laughed at the idea of wearing ‘a tablecloth’, but when the time came, I did manage to find a beautiful linen-based fabric with a beetled sheen which evoked all those childhood memories.
Along with my sentimental attachment I’d also had a chance to study its history a little. While a student at the ‘art college’ on York Street I was given an opportunity to work as the college’s archivist, researching its history in the lead up to the 150th anniversary of the Belfast School of Design. It had been one of a number of Design Schools established in the mid-19th century in cities across the UK to support their local industries, training young designers in everything from textiles to pottery. In Belfast these were for the rapidly growing linen industry. As College Archivist, I emersed myself in that world, reading about how design education evolved, the point at which the college embraced Fine Arts as well as Applied, producing a wealth of talent in both. (You can find out much more about the history of the Belfast School of Art in Mike Catto’s excellent book on the subject A School of Design for Belfast 1849–1960).
My work there also inspired to find out more about linen in my own local area – reading up on Bessbrook Mill and the great John Grubb Richardson whose philanthropy saw the creation of a purpose-built village for his workforce, as well as provisions for their education, spiritual and physical health and welfare. His nephew-in-law Henry Barcroft invented a damask power loom for the mill, he introduced an electric tram, only the second in the world, transporting products and workers to and from the mill. It was extraordinary to think of the area I grew up in being at the cutting edge of design and industry. But by the time I was playing in the fields that once were the grounds of Barcroft’s grand home there was barely any trace of it. So, years later, when I was offered the comms role at the Linen Biennale, I jumped at the chance to reacquaint myself with the history of the linen industry and find out much more about its legacy.
What immediately struck me as I got to know the team and their hard work producing the biennale, was that linen was far from simply a legacy fabric, but was undergoing a major renaissance, hugely valued for its strength, sustainability and enormous potential. Its origins were ancient of course and it had a rich history in Ireland, but at the heart of the biennale were three words – past, present and future. The Linen Biennale was not simply about preserving and celebrating the past. Its mission was to shine a light on how flax and linen was currently inspiring artists, designers and makers, and also to provide opportunities to learn more about its future potential, create spaces to share knowledge, make connections and spark ideas.
Over the three months of this year’s biennale I had very many personal highlights. With over a hundred events ranging from talks, tours, exhibitions and workshops it really is difficult to narrow it down to just a handful. I learned how to make paper from flax pulp with Regine Neumann, fell for the hypnotic rhythms of the spinning wheel as I watched experts from the Ulster Guild of Weavers Rumpelstiltskin-like turn rough fibre to gold. Helped pull flax at Mallon Farm where it is once again being commercially grown – the first time in Northern Ireland in more than a generation! I saw some incredible exhibitions with contemporary artists reflecting on flax, linen and the industries associated with it. Lynne Hocking took that a step further and delved into her genetic history and the story of the female line of her family tree and its links to linen and weaving, representing seven generations through woven objects. I met fashion designers whose love of linen was inspiring their breathtaking creations, and in reGroup I caught a glimpse of potential new uses of flax and linen in Jane McCann’s research into Natural Fibre Composites and bio materials for clothing.
At the end of the Linen Biennale NI 2023 I took away one key message – linen is a textile with a history, and a fibre of our future. I look forward to discovering more of its potential in many more years of Linen Biennales.