| Magna Carta (An Embroidery) | |
|---|---|
 Detail of the top left ofMagna Carta (An Embroidery) | |
| Artist | Cornelia Parker |
| Year | 2015 (2015) |
| Type | Embroidery |
| Subject | TheMagna Carta English Wikipedia articleas of 15 June 2014 |
| Dimensions | 1.5 m × 13 m (4.9 ft × 43 ft) |
Magna Carta (An Embroidery) is a 2015 work by English installation artistCornelia Parker.[1] It is anembroidered representation of the complete text and images of an online encyclopedia article forMagna Carta, as it appeared on theEnglish Wikipedia on15 June 2014, the 799th anniversary of the document.[1]
The hand-stitched embroidery is 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) wide and nearly 13 metres (43 ft) long. It is a response to the legacy of Magna Carta in the digital era and Parker has referred to it as "a snapshot of where the debate is right now", the result of all open edits byEnglish Wikipedians up to that date.[1] It was commissioned by theRuskin School of Art at theUniversity of Oxford in partnership with the British Library,[2] after being chosen from proposals from a shortlist of artists in February 2014.[3]
Parker used a screenshot from the 15 June 2014 English Wikipedia article for Magna Carta and printed it onto fabric. Like English Wikipedia, the embroidery was created through the collaboration of many individuals. It was divided in 87 sections and sent to 200 individuals who each hand-stitched portions of the artwork. She sought the collaboration of people and groups that have been affected by and associated with Magna Carta.[4] The majority of the text was sewn by prisoners.[5] Members of theEmbroiderers' Guild stitched the images, with at least one embroiderer selected from each region of the UK.[6] Many celebrities and public figures also contributed, stitching phrases or words of special significance to them.[7] Parker has represented the work as "Echoing the communal activity that resulted in theBayeux Tapestry, but on this occasion placing more emphasis on the word rather than the image, I wanted to create an artwork that is a contemporary interpretation of Magna Carta."[1]
The work includes a tea stain from a prisoner and a spot of blood fromGuardian editorAlan Rusbridger, who accidentally pricked his finger while sewing.[7]
Parker invited some 200 people to hand-stitch portions of the work including prison inmates, civil rights campaigners, MPs, lawyers, barons and artists.[1] Much of the work was done by 36 prisoners from 13 different prisons in England, under the supervision of the social enterpriseFine Cell Work.[8] Members of theEmbroiderers' Guild contributed the images as did students from theRoyal School of Needlework and the London embroidery companyHand & Lock.
Six students fromLa Retraite Roman Catholic Girls' School, London were the youngest contributors to the work.[9]
Parker invited royalty to contribute to the work, but they declined. She said that right-wing people were more likely to decline; bothGordon Brown andAlex Salmond also declined to contribute.[10]
Magna Carta (An Embroidery) formed part of an exhibition celebrating the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. It was displayed in the Entrance Hall of theBritish Library from 15 May to 24 July 2015,[1] at theWhitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, August – November 2016, and in theBlackwell Hall of theBodleian Library, Oxford, 11 November 2015 – 3 January 2016, touring other United Kingdom locations in the rest of 2016 and 2017.[14] In 2022 it was exhibited atTate Britain as part of an exhibition of Cornelia Parker's work.[15] From 15 May to 17 September 2023 it was displayed as part of the exhibitionTo Be Free: Art and Liberty atSalisbury Cathedral.[16]
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