Ceremonial Bed Sheet 1920 - 1930

This Ceremonial Bed Sheet was made by an anonymous artist with an unknown date. I love the directness of this object. It is a humble creation, a repeated, imperfect stripe, like Agnes Martin gone domestic. The imperfections, the irregularities, they’re not hidden but celebrated, right there on the surface. Look at the way the alternating colours sit side by side. It's like a dance between intention and accident, where the dye bleeds a little and the lines have a mind of their own. It's a very human piece of artwork. The process is so clear, so exposed, it's hard not to see it as a metaphor for life. A bit rough, a bit messy, but beautiful in its own way. It reminds me of Sheila Hicks's weavings – that same interest in the hand-made, the tactile, the personal. But unlike Hicks, there’s no sense of grand ambition here. Just the simple act of making, of finding beauty in the everyday. In art, like life, it's often the simplest things that have the most to say.