Faye Oakenfull

“As a child, I remember asking on several occasions ‘I wonder why Uncle Walter is not married yet?’ The replies from my mother or grandmother were (with some amusement) ‘because no one could put up with him’ or ‘he would be too hard to keep’. In my northern town naivety I was always unaware of Uncle Walters sexuality.”

Great Uncle Walter: A romanticised image built from the remnants of a man who died too young, kept alive in old letters, belongings, photo albums and a favourite niece’s fond memory.  A character born before a time that he felt would accept his sexuality, Walter remained quiet until his death of HIV and AIDS in 1993, never feeling it necessary to come out.

A vibrant, textile-led collection with a nod to the AIDS Memorial Quilt and Keith Haring’s jeans, driven by nostalgia of embroidery, old prints and handcrafts to stitch together a tale of a favourite relative I never had the pleasure of knowing.