Felt Nation, the first major exhibition of contemporary Mongolian felt to be shown in the UK, takes place this month in Glasgow.

The exhibition has been originated by the Collins Gallery in collaboration with the three main feltmaking associations of Mongolia: The White Circle Centre, Duuren Sanaa and the Sukhleg Felt Studio.

It will comprise a broad range of work from functional to decorative by leading makers, selected by Laura Hamilton, curator at the Collins Gallery during a research visit to Mongolia in 2007, in partnership with the three group directors and Swedish curator and collaborator, Gunilla Paetau Sjoberg.

It initially evolved from a study  visit by members of the Scottish Felters to Mongolia in 2005 where they  attended a conference organised by  the White Circle, explored and experimented with felting techniques and established partnerships with local specialists .

Although feltmaking is more of a craftform than an industry in Scotland, it nevertheless draws on an abundant resource of wool and offers an alternative means of utilising a material traditionally used in the now declining weaving and knitting industries.  In comparison, the Mongolians or “people of the felt walls” have produced and developed felt for over 2,000 years, making it an integral part of their lifestyle, embodying clothing, containers, furnishings and the very structure of their homes or gers. It has always and indeed remains an important form of currency.  

Many of the traditional applications were suppressed under the Soviet-backed socialist regime but since 1990, the Mongolian government has actively encouraged a nationwide review, revival and expansion of the craft.  The consequent developments in applications, new techniques and the integration of traditional with contemporary motifs, have created an exciting and innovative body of work of an international calibre. 

The exhibition will present an overview of current practice alongside an exploration of the roots of this indigenous art form, concerning processes, customs and taboos associated with different parts of the country, materials, the origins of complex, geometric patterns and abstracted animal motifs, and the symbolic uses of colour, embroidery and appliqué.

Exhibits will include: garments, accessories, rugs, hangings and a half sized ger.  Resource material will comprise : graphics of common designs, samples of different types of felt (made from camel hair, goat hair, sheep’s fleece, natural and chemically/organically dyed ), documentary films of traditional and contemporary processes produced by the Scottish Feltmakers and by the Sukhleg Felt Art Studio, and translations of poems pertinent to feltmaking traditions, collected by Professor L. Batchuluun, author of the internationally recognised, academic monologue: “Felt Art of the Mongols”.

The exhibition is supported by a full day Sympsiom on Saturday 10 May with presentations about the Scottish Feltmakers’ study visit to Mongolia, a review of partnerships between Swedish and Mongolian feltmakers, a historical exploration of Central Asian feltmaking and textile art, an examination of the wide cultural diversity which exists in Mongolia and its impact on traditional and contemporary textile crafts and the development and promotion of “felt painting” by the Sukhleg Felt Art Studio.  There will also be demonstrations by visiting Mongolian makers at lunchtime and at the end of the day.

Workshops/demonstrations by visiting Mongolian makers will also be held on Monday 12 May and Tuesday 13 May 2008.

Felt Nation: Contemporary Mongolian Textile Art is on from 10 May to 21 June 2008 (closed 26 May 2008 at the Collins Gallery, University of Strathclyde, 22 Richmond Street, Glasgow G1 1XQ. Tel: 0141 548 2558    Open Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm, Saturday 12 noon to 4pm.  Admission free.