Island of Neighbours

Island of Neighbours is a collaborative textile patchwork created by members of the New Art Studio and trustee, Evie Lingwood. The title of the project draws from Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s recent speech where he warned that ‘without strong migration rules, we risk becoming an island of strangers’. In response, Island of Neighbours reimagines this phrase, reflecting community, belonging and togetherness.

The work is composed of individual fabric squares made by members of the group during workshop sessions led by Evie. Each member designed and stitched a piece reflecting their identity, memories, and sense of self. The result is a diverse range of textile panels: women dancing, a ‘countries of Asia’ puzzle, a group of people on a boat. Each square is distinct, yet when stitched together they form a shared surface – a patchwork ‘flag’ reimagined as a symbol of care and solidarity, and one that celebrates the diverse and multiple experiences and identities of refugees and asylum seekers.

Uneven seams and varied techniques are left visible, emphasising that this is not a single authored artwork, but a collective one. Words and phrases from studio conversations are sewn into the borders – fragments of sentences that may appear random, but collectively evoke the calm, reflective space created during the art therapy sessions.

To re-stitch is to repair a fragmented social fabric. In a political climate dominated by hostility towards refugees and asylum seekers, Island of Neighbours asks viewers to reflect: who is part of our community, and how might we learn to live as neighbours?

Evie Lingwood

This work will be exhibited in Kentish Town Library until 1st January, and then around London. We will keep you updated!