One loom, six metres in length, currently dominates the great, light-filled weaving hall of Edinburgh’s renowned tapestry workshop, Dovecot Studios. At its side sits Master Weaver Naomi Robertson, threading yarn from countless dangling bobbins between and around taut vertical strings, each dabbed with tiny, code-like markings. The tapestry, which is growing slowly upwards from the base of the loom, forms a spread of pinks, reds and golds, shifting horizontally through rich tonal ranges. The subject is as yet unclear.
Given the intensity of the colour in this tapestry, it may seem surprising that its architect should be the painter Alison Watt, known for her bleached-out portraiture and paintings of white cloth. The tapestry is destined for the Theatre Royal in Glasgow where, at the behest of Scottish Opera, it will hang over three floors of a new extension due to open next summer. In commissioning this work, which will be the largest piece of public art at the theatre, Scottish Opera has satisfied a longstanding desire to work with both Dovecot and Alison Watt.
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