Selvedge With Dark
Selvedge with Dark (2017) is a major public artwork by Sara Barker, created as part of a series of commissions for Angel Court in the City of London. The piece consists of long, woven layers of painted metal mesh, extending the full length of Throgmorton Passage. Barker's composition layers coloured metals to create shifting abstract forms, generating different visual effects depending on the viewer's position. Up close, the mesh reveals intricate texture and subtle detailing; from afar, it reads as a fluid, linear artwork integrated into the architecture of the passage.
The work stands alongside Last of Light (3 Needles), also commissioned for Angel Court, and represents Barker's ongoing interest in combining painterly language with sculptural materiality. In Selvedge with Dark, she treats metal much like textile — borrowing the term selvedge from fabric construction, reflecting the project's curatorial theme connecting each artwork to the site's historical associations with textiles and trade.
The work stands alongside Last of Light (3 Needles), also commissioned for Angel Court, and represents Barker's ongoing interest in combining painterly language with sculptural materiality. In Selvedge with Dark, she treats metal much like textile — borrowing the term selvedge from fabric construction, reflecting the project's curatorial theme connecting each artwork to the site's historical associations with textiles and trade.
