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L to R Anna Ray (Image credit: Ruth Ward) and Vanja Bazdulj

Above (Left): Offcut-ends by Anna Ray. Art in Manufacturing Season Three Residency. Commissioned by The National Festival of Making and Super Slow Way. Anna Ray was artist in Residence at Forbo Flooring in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire.

In March 2021, textile artist Anna Ray won the Brookfield Properties Crafts Council Collection Award for two original works, ‘Capture’ and ‘Weave’. These intriguing and vivid textile forms were presented virtually by House on Mars Gallery (established in 2020 by Vanja Bazdulj) as part of its ‘Beyond Typology’ showcase, during the online version of the Collect 2021 art fair. Acquired by Brookfield Properties for the Crafts Council Primary Collection, ‘Capture’ and ‘Weave’ are central to a new exhibition of Ray’s work. Titled ‘On Tenterhooks’, the exhibition is inspired by Ray’s Huguenot ancestors, who settled in Spitalfields in the 18th century and worked as textile makers. Taking place across two of Brookfield Properties London venues, 99 Bishopsgate and Aldgate Tower, 'On Tenterhooks’ explores textile-making, both past and present.

House on Mars is very much a young and forward-looking gallery. Representing Anna Ray’s award-winning work is testimony to Vanja Bazdulj’s creative vision and her support for the work of independent, contemporary artists. Both Ray and Bazdulj have known one another for a number of years. Curious to gain an insight to their relationship, the pair sat down (virtually) in conversation.

Weave and Capture by Anna Ray at Brookfield Properties - 99 Bishopsgate. (Image credit: Ruth Ward)
First shown at Collect 2021 with House on Mars Gallery.

How did you both meet and what led to you working together?

(Anna) I met Vanja at the Collect art fair in 2012. We were both exhibiting textile works in the Project Space, showing on opposite sides of the same wall. Our work is complementary: we share a love of colour, exaggerated scale, and mark-making [the creation of different patterns, lines, textures, and shapes]. Vanja’s larger-than-life colourful felt and painted furniture had the same energetic and playful vibe as my padded ‘Knot’ wall piece—it was also brightly coloured, squidgy, and tactile.

(Vanja) We immediately hit it off and I fell in love with Anna's work. She was installing ‘Knot’ and I started putting the pieces on my head. I wanted to wear them straight away—that was my first instinct.

(Anna) When Vanja established the House on Mars Gallery last year, she contacted me to ask if I would be interested in creating some wearables for the gallery’s launch at London Design Festival. I didn’t hesitate to say ‘yes’.

(Vanja) I originally approached Anna to create jewellery/wearables for me, and we expanded on that for this year’s Collect.

Vanja, you established House on Mars in 2020. What is it about Anna’s work that made you want to represent her at the gallery?

I find Anna's work to be exceptionally transformative—it has an incredible power to change a space and mood. I get energy from my surroundings, and I feel energised by Anna's work.

Her work is simultaneously uncanny and familiar. It has a certain ‘domestic’ quality, something that is highly underestimated: you can’t ignore that it’s made from textiles, is hand-sewn and hand-painted. For me, it’s relevant that this is a woman’s work. I find it important that, as an artist, Anna has taken her domestic surroundings, her readily available materials and skills, and created something so impactful and unique. The result is an incredibly individual and innovative way of working.

I find Anna’s work to be slightly feminist in nature, though I have no idea if she intended this. I simply feel a deep connection with her work.

Margate Knot by Anna Ray - Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England (Image credit: Ruth Ward)

Anna, you created both ‘Weave’ and ‘Capture’ during the first national UK lockdown. Where some people perhaps went to ground, you channelled your energy creatively. What motivated and inspired you?

I had just completed a major project for Facebook’s London Offices at the beginning of the first lockdown. I was then due to have some time experimenting in the studio. ‘Capture’ was a test piece inspired by fragments of ancient beadwork in museum collections. I began by creating soft beads using fabric, threaded onto golden cord. I enjoyed the way in which the elements hung together, where the cords naturally created curved forms as they rested delicately against the wall. I am curious about how materials behave in different arrangements, under different constraints. Hanging from wrapped wooden poles, the strung beads have the potential to move and bend under the weight of one another. For me, ‘Capture’ playfully represents my role as an artist: I am a puppeteer of colour and form.

‘Weave’ is inspired by my childhood memories of ‘Clothkits' dressmaking kits. These fabrics were covered in printed patterns, motifs, and scenes of people, animals, gardens, houses, and everyday objects. They were available in limited, striking, and unforgettable colour combinations. I have also been influenced by traditional Polynesian barkcloth, which may be printed by hand or painted in monochromatic, striking repeats in myriad ways. In my work, I enjoy the connection between everyday handmade objects and things, and traditional forms of art. I often bring together methods of making that reference and blend in a tactile and visceral way.

L to Right: Offcut - Tuft and Offcut - Sample by Anna Ray. Art in Manufacturing Season Three Residency. Commissioned by The National Festival of Making and Super Slow Way. Anna Ray was artist in Residence at Forbo Flooring in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire. (Image credit: Ruth Ward)

‘Weave’ and ‘Capture’ won the 2021 Brookfield Properties Crafts Council Collection Award. It’s a pivotal moment for you both. What does it mean to you Anna as an artist, and to you Vanja for House on Mars?

(Anna) I'm thrilled to have been awarded the Brookfield Properties Crafts Council Collection Award. What’s more, I’m incredibly proud to now have my artwork in the Crafts Council Primary Collection alongside other respected makers. During the summer, I’m excited to be exhibiting my work in a solo exhibition [’On Tenterhooks’] in London at Brookfield Properties buildings; 99 Bishopsgate and Aldgate Tower. I am grateful to have the opportunity to take a moment and celebrate my achievements to date, and I’ll use this as a springboard to raise my ambition for my work in the future.

(Vanja) For a young gallery like House on Mars, winning this award is such an incredible acknowledgement of our vision. It is something I take as a compliment and will push forward. I think Anna and I really got together at the right moment in time—it was the right moment for textile arts which are often overlooked.

Anna, what was the impetus for the exhibition ‘On Tenterhooks’?

The title ‘On Tenterhooks’ takes inspiration from my ancestors, who worked in textiles in London from the mid-18th century and beyond. The phrase is still commonly used to express a nervousness or eager anticipation of something—it sums up my feelings about having a major show in London. There were once tenter-fields close to Aldgate Tower and across Spitalfields. These areas of open land were dedicated to the textile industry—fabrics were hung out to dry, stretched taut on wooden frames using tenterhooks, thus keeping their shape. ‘On Tenterhooks’ is a showcase of the works acquired by Brookfield Properties [‘Capture’ and ‘Weave’] and gifted to The Crafts Council Collection, alongside a series of textile artworks and films from my career to date.

Clockwise: Margate Knot, Capture and Bloom all by Anna Ray (Image credit: Ruth Ward)

With this boost in recognition, how do you see your relationship developing in the future?

(Vanja) I see Anna's work as wild and free, and House on Mars Gallery is trying to domesticate a small part of it. It’s museum quality work that needs to be tamed in order to fit within a domestic environment—where I want to place it. We are still working on this and both need time to achieve it. We’ll have some new things next year. The gallery will continue to offer Anna’s contemporary jewellery series ‘Done Up’, which is slowly capturing people’s hearts.

(Anna) Yes, I’m working on a new series of ‘Done Up’ wearables for House on Mars Gallery, and I hope to present work with Vanja at other shows in the future. We can also look forward to congratulating the next winner of the Brookfield Properties Crafts Council Collection Award at Collect 2022.

On Tenterhooks Exhibition runs until 3 September 2021 at the reception lobby of 99 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3XD and Aldgate Tower, London EC1 8QN

Daily 8am to 6pm
Free Entry
More info at www.99bishopsgate.com/events

Banner Image: Pointillist by Anna Ray (Image credit: Ruth Ward)