The Dovecot Studio in Edinburgh is currently showing a tapestry at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London’s South Kensington for International Women’s Day.
The piece is designed by Christine Borland and was woven at the Dovecot from cotton, linen and nylon. It is based on the Edinburgh Seven, women who matriculated in 1869 as medical students but were denied the right to practice as doctors. Their fight resulted in the Medical Act of 1876 that allowed women that right.
Taking its colours from the aniline dyes used in staining cells in the 19th Century, the dramatic and colourful piece has been moulded by unpicking the cotton weft of the tapestry to mimic the action of cellular movement, a technically complex achievement.
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