Embrocation (1 to 5)
2011. Paper and fabric, stitching.
This series was created in response to the eclectic collection of Slough Museum, a typical small town museum with artefacts from a mammoth tooth fossil to a WWII dress made from an old parachute. I was drawn to the display about Elliman’s Embrocation, a medicine originally formulated and manufactured in Slough. It was manufactured identically for both humans and animals but marketed and sold in different packaging. And though it appears like a patent medicine that we assume would be of no use, it is still in production today. I found a copy of the Elliman’s sponsored first aid book ‘REP’ (first published 1902) and some original advertising from Victorian magazines (1896 and 1897) on E-bay and used these to make a series of pieces that draw attention to the way in which Elliman’s was marketed: from the man who falls off his bike when shocked by a woman wearing bloomers, to the crazy sport of horse fencing, to the blatant sponsorship of a first aid book that also gives a highly dubious proof that Elliman’s is not poisonous if ingested.
Part of 'Whatever Floats Your Boat' at Slough Museum. A project devised and curated by Sandy Snowden and Jane Glennie with the Thames Valley Contemporary Textiles group.
The project was granted the prestigious London 2012 Inspire Mark, the badge of the London 2012 Inspire programme which recognises exceptional and innovative projects inspired by the 2012 Olympic Games.
This series was created in response to the eclectic collection of Slough Museum, a typical small town museum with artefacts from a mammoth tooth fossil to a WWII dress made from an old parachute. I was drawn to the display about Elliman’s Embrocation, a medicine originally formulated and manufactured in Slough. It was manufactured identically for both humans and animals but marketed and sold in different packaging. And though it appears like a patent medicine that we assume would be of no use, it is still in production today. I found a copy of the Elliman’s sponsored first aid book ‘REP’ (first published 1902) and some original advertising from Victorian magazines (1896 and 1897) on E-bay and used these to make a series of pieces that draw attention to the way in which Elliman’s was marketed: from the man who falls off his bike when shocked by a woman wearing bloomers, to the crazy sport of horse fencing, to the blatant sponsorship of a first aid book that also gives a highly dubious proof that Elliman’s is not poisonous if ingested.
Part of 'Whatever Floats Your Boat' at Slough Museum. A project devised and curated by Sandy Snowden and Jane Glennie with the Thames Valley Contemporary Textiles group.
The project was granted the prestigious London 2012 Inspire Mark, the badge of the London 2012 Inspire programme which recognises exceptional and innovative projects inspired by the 2012 Olympic Games.