The Loom is full of stories that unravel and offer glimpses into the building’s rich history. From the woven metal gates that welcome you in to the bespoke artworks in the Art Space, stories are all around. But none is more apparent that the huge black and white mural that rises up through building’s atrium space.
Stuart Patience, an illustrator and animator based in London, was commissioned to create a piece of art that would resonate with both the building’s heritage and the creative community using The Loom today. Working with a local historian he looked back to The Loom’s past life as a warehouse built to store bales of wool produced by the merino sheep of Australia. Patience’s interpretation of The Loom’s history sees overgrown sheep rise up through the space while farmers struggle to keep them grounded, tugging at the sheep’s coats and unravelling their wool as they do so.
‘I’ve gone back the origins of where it all started – merino sheep farming. The idea was to create a playfully surreal take on the building’s history with a sense of wonder and spectacle, something that would parallel The Loom’s new creative community.
I wanted to take advantage of the tall and narrow canvas at the heart of the building with a narrative that unravels as people ascend through the building, just like as the wool unravels from the sheep as they float up into the air like clouds.’ – Stuart Patience