Since first going on display at Sheffield Cathedral in January thousands of visitors have been wowed by the colourful creativity of textile artist Jacqui Parkinson’s Threads through Creation exhibition.
“Absolutely stunning and awe-inspiring” wrote one visitor. Another commented “Truly beautiful and far better than I imagined.” While in true Sheffield fashion a couple said “Reyt good! A lovely addition to Sheffield.”
Threads through Creation is a spectacular sequence of twelve huge textile panels. Each panel is a triumph of needlecraft – combining layers of silk, hand-dyed materials, metallic leathers, gold leaf and miles and miles of thread. The scale of the panels and the skill and artistry on display is extraordinary.
The whole exhibition is one of the largest projects ever to be undertaken by a single textile artist. After 3 years painstaking work and more than 8 million stiches later, Jacqui has created a moving and colourful retelling of the Creation story from the Book of Genesis. Visitors are treated to a wonderful variety of colours, shapes, patterns and lots of creatures.
Jacqui explains, “My aim was to capture the wonderful extravagance of the Creation story and to delight people who see it. Despite Adam and Eve’s fall from grace, it remains a story of love and promise, something we can all do with these days.”
“I first saw Threads through Creation at Southwell Minster nearly three years ago and have been working ever since to bring this incredible exhibition to Sheffield” explains Ben Rossi, Development Manager for Sheffield Cathedral. “It also been wonderful to have the exhibition here during the half term school holiday and seeing children enjoy finding planets and their favourite animals in the tapestries. The whole project has been a real success. Nearly 15,000 people have visited so far. This is 70% up on the number of visitors to the cathedral compared to the same period last year, with the exhibition going to be here for another week and a half. If you haven’t seen it, I urge you to make the effort. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.”
Threads through Creation runs until 3 March. There is no charge to visit the exhibition however donations to support the life and work of Sheffield Cathedral are appreciated.