Description
To mark Glasgow Women’s Library’s 21st anniversary, the Library commissioned 21 women artists to create new work inspired by items and artefacts in our collections.
One of each limited edition will join the GWL Archive Collection, while the rest are being sold to raise money for the Library. This is your chance to buy an exclusive artwork and support the Library’s work at the same time!
Ruth Barker, A Scarf for Glasgow Women’s Library, 2012
Digital print on silk chiffon, 135cm x 30cm, variable edition of 20
The central panel of each scarf shows an image of the artist’s hands, in an aesthetic suggesting the humble photocopy. Part of the beauty and strength of the Library’s archive are the sheaves of photocopied notes and advertisements, revealing the historical significance of this simple tool for sharing information.
The Library is a quiet space, and yet through our body language – particularly the way we use our hands – we are always eloquent. The immensely warm and welcoming embrace of the Library and its community is celebrated in the scarves’ enveloping wrap.
A Scarf for Glasgow Women’s Library is a variable edition of 20, available in 5 different colours (future blue, hope green, memory purple, welcome salmon and flown yellow) and 4 different gestures (hands cupped, palms wide, strong fists and two fingers): each work is unique.
About Ruth Barker
Ruth Barker is a Glasgow-based artist originally from Leeds. She completed a first class BA (Hons) in Environmental Art at Glasgow School of Art in 2001, and an MFA (Master of Fine Art) at GSA in 2004, and is currently undertaking a practice-based PhD at Newcastle University (2011 – 2014).
From a background in site and context specific practice, Barker’s most recent work has been primarily performance based. In Barker’s work, the re-making of the mythic space of performance becomes a gesture towards the ritual and artistic understanding of self, gender, and mortality.
Recent projects include performance commissions for Glasgow International festival of Visual Art; Cartel Gallery, London; Segedunum Museum, Wallsend; ReMap festival, Athens; the Centre for Interdisciplinary Artefact Studies, Newcastle; and Machon Hamayim Gallery, Tel Aviv.
In 2008 Barker designed the first permanent British war memorial to commemorate non-combatants killed in conflict. The Choir Loft is a grade II listed monument, and is sited beside the Cenotaph in Blackpool, UK.
Buy Ruth Barker’s A Scarf for Glasgow Women’s Library now
Each scarf is available for £200. You can arrange to pick the scarf up at GWL, or have it sent by post (£20 UK/£40 International). Please select the option you prefer from the drop-down menu above. You can also buy the scarves directly at GWL
Lalou –
I bought one of these – each one is unique – I bought the blue one with open hands and wear it for special occasions. It always looks beautiful and attracts lots of interest, awe and compliments.