Neil Bottle: Focus

A new exhibition of printed textiles inspired by the landscapes of the Middle East will be opening at Contemporary Applied Arts, London, in March. The pieces in the collection, which range from large wall hangings to wearable items such as scarves, were produced by UCA Canterbury Senior Lecturer Neil Bottle who has been a member of the gallery for twenty years. Much of the inspiration for this latest collection was gained during a secondment at the University of Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates

Neil Bottle exhibition catalogue

Neil Bottle exhibition catalogue with a critical review by Sue Prichard, Curator of Fashion and Textiles at The Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The text is in Welsh and English. The exhibition took place during September 2010 at the Ruthin Craft Centre, Denbighshire, Wales

TechnoCraft collection

The collection evolved into a series of printed and pleated, sculptural textile pieces. Three-dimensional treatments, such as shobori and pleating, further explore the "hidden and revealed" concept by creating an interaction between the physical movement of the pleated surfaces and the fragmented printed imagery. The TechnoCraft collection was launched in September 2010 at a Focus Showcase exhibition at the Ruthin Craft Centre in Denbighshire. Sue Prichard, Curator of Fashion & Textiles at the Victoria and Albert Museum reviewed the new collection in July 2010, saying: "This relentless pursuit of the creative possibilities still to be discovered by a combination of the artisan with high tech applications is risk taking at its most exciting. Bottle delights in pushing the boundaries – this is a cause for both celebration and breathless anticipation for the future.

All That Remains

The “All That Remains” body of work was created as celebration of 30 years working as a textiles practitioner and acts as a milestone, repositioning my practice in a research context unconfined by the constraints of my commercial fashion print work. Nostalgia, in the context of the digital age, is a key focus in the work and through the work I aim to reconnect and remember the precious fragments of my archive of family photographs. My context is an autobiographical narrative printed onto cloth, a memory bank, in which both physical photographic prints and digitally captured images are deconstructed and re-presented, the familiarity of which resonates and references one’s own values and connections with our past, present and future. In a societal context our connection to our past is rapidly diminishing as the materiality of our physical world and spoken word as communication are replaced with digital platforms. I aim to evoke a collective experience of nostalgia, to invite curiosity and discussion about the way we recall past memory, interact with digitally created images and consider the value of the physical artefact in a virtual world. The linking of past memories, people and experiences creates both an emotional response and empathy for one’s own personal story. I reference contemporary photographic theory which explores the influence of social media on human behaviour. Drawing on memory both real and imagined, fuelled by self-reflection and a relentless drive to experiment and create new work, the roots of my creativity are confronted, unravelled and exposed through print on cloth, the medium which first inspired me to create as a young child. As a digital settler, born in the late 1960s and with three decades of analogue printed textiles experience, my approach to the use of Computer Aided Design is very different to a generation of younger digital native designers, who have never experienced a pre-digital existence. My lifelong passion for pattern and cloth combined with three decades of working as a print designer have equipped me with an analogue tool kit, with which I explore the world of digital design. For over a decade I have pushed the boundaries of computer software in development of my work and in the pursuit of the highest quality digital print resolution available. With the development of the latest generation of digital printers, digitally printed textiles can now rival the quality of hand printing and even surpass it with the limitless opportunities it presents for creative expression. Digital production methods are often associated with mass production but my approach is more similar to that of a painter, building up complex surfaces and layers of imagery and my creative outputs are carefully crafted, honed, reworked and refined digital one-off pieces which have required a fluency in the complex language of our digital world. The research outcomes, presented as a series of wall hung textiles art works, will be showcased at the new Contemporary Applied Art Gallery in London and a one man show at the Ruthin Craft Centre in Denbighshire

Clinical Characteristics and Predictors of Outcomes of Hospitalized Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 in a Multiethnic London National Health Service Trust: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence suggests ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Detailed clinical analyses of multicultural hospitalized patient cohorts remain largely undescribed. METHODS: We performed regression, survival, and cumulative competing risk analyses to evaluate factors associated with mortality in patients admitted for COVID-19 in 3 large London hospitals between 25 February and 5 April, censored as of 1 May 2020. RESULTS: Of 614 patients (median age, 69 [interquartile range, 25] years) and 62% male), 381 (62%) were discharged alive, 178 (29%) died, and 55 (9%) remained hospitalized at censoring. Severe hypoxemia (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 4.25 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 2.36-7.64]), leukocytosis (aOR, 2.35 [95% CI, 1.35-4.11]), thrombocytopenia (aOR [1.01, 95% CI, 1.00-1.01], increase per 109 decrease), severe renal impairment (aOR, 5.14 [95% CI, 2.65-9.97]), and low albumin (aOR, 1.06 [95% CI, 1.02-1.09], increase per gram decrease) were associated with death. Forty percent (n = 244) were from black, Asian, and other minority ethnic (BAME) groups, 38% (n = 235) were white, and ethnicity was unknown for 22% (n = 135). BAME patients were younger and had fewer comorbidities. Although the unadjusted odds of death did not differ by ethnicity, when adjusting for age, sex, and comorbidities, black patients were at higher odds of death compared to whites (aOR, 1.69 [95% CI, 1.00-2.86]). This association was stronger when further adjusting for admission severity (aOR, 1.85 [95% CI, 1.06-3.24]). CONCLUSIONS: BAME patients were overrepresented in our cohort; when accounting for demographic and clinical profile of admission, black patients were at increased odds of death. Further research is needed into biologic drivers of differences in COVID-19 outcomes by ethnicity

Lace Effects Coat and Wallhanging Installation

The Lace Effects exhibition at the Cite International de la Dentelle et del la Mode de Calais (International Centre for Lace and Fashion), showcased textile, fashion and design creations inspired by the theme of lace. "I have interpreted the 'Lace Effect' as an extension of the layering process, hiding and revealing layers or fragments of images, drawings and shapes. The relationships between the past and present, one-off and mass production are also explored in the work. I found the archive at Cite International de la Dentelle et del la Mode de Calais very inspiring, providing a rich source of imagery. The traditions of quality and the historical value of lace are a timely reminder of the current revolution in textiles production and how we encompass contemporary and future design and production methods". "In the 'Kaleidoscope coat' I have explored the relationship between the three-dimensional garment form, pattern cutting and the two dimensional digital printed images. The 'Kaleidoscope coat' is designed as a digital one-off, a carefully crafted balance of the hand and the digital. The coat is presented as an exhibit, artefact or sample rather than a wearable piece. The piece is inspired by the graphite blackened hands of the lever lace operators and the technical expertise developed over many generations. By contrast it is produced with cutting edge digital technology and created by a maker who is part of the digital revolution, a revolution that presents such unprecedented creative possibilities." - Neil Bottle

Optical series

The new work, entitled "Optical Series," demonstrated a departure in content and technique from the earlier figurative designs. Neil developed a method of mark making and printing to convey an uncontrollable or serendipitous quality of line drawing. He experimented with ways of making spontaneous marks in various paints, resin, varnish, dyes and bleach which were then translated onto silk screen. The finished piece evokes a sense of the technological landscape; ironically it has an architectural quality yet is devoid of literal reference

Model : making

The Model : making exhibition was curated by Brian Kennedy in collaboration with Allies & Morrison in September 2013. For the London Design Festival, the Model : making exhibition looked at the increased use of new technologies by both craft-makers and architectural model makers. In both practices traditional ways of making by hand are increasingly being combined with the latest technologies of digital imaging, laser cutting, CNC machining and 3D printing. This exhibition focussed on the differing approaches by makers across the spectrum of craft disciplines and examined how new technologies are being absorbed into the everyday practice of many contemporary makers. By contrasting this approach with that of the architectural model maker we can examine different approaches to technology and see how both sides are adapting these new technologies to the aesthetic demands of their disciplines. This exhibition presented 'digital' sketches, early prototypes and finished work allowing the audience to follow the thinking and development throughout the making process. It examined the similarities and differences between the different practices and developed a visual dialogue between the works represented. Model : making afforded the viewer a unique insight into the early stages of development of an idea and a chance to see how the use of new technologies is influencing and developing the traditional craft disciplines. Neil exhibited a series of pieces exploring and disseminating the integration of craft and digital processes. The outputs included a book, a short film, as well as a series of wall hung installations. 1. Main wall hanging piece, 130 x 200 cms- Printed silk 2. Lace Effect concertina book. Hand made, digitally printed book illustrating the inspiration, methodology and techniques involved in the concept, design, production and execution of the work. The relationship between hand and digital are explored and illustrated. 3. A short film consisting of a sequence of still images, which show the journey from start to finish of the wall hanging. The hidden layers in the digital Photoshop file will be revealed one by one as the image begins to build up. Many of these layers are hand generated and this will be illustrated in the book

Turner Contemporary collection of fashion accessories

A collection of fashion accessories designed and produced for Turner Contemporary in Margate. Designs were commissioned to evoke the history, location and ethos of the Turner Contemporary organisation. Scarves were designed using hand and digital design technology and then digitally printed in England. Neil's research draws on 20 years experimentation in textile design, dye chemistry and screen-printing, combined with digital design. His new collection, designed exclusively for Turner Contemporary, combines these diverse working methods and is inspired by the architecture of Turner Contemporary as well as the location and history of Margate. Neil has combined drawing and hand generated methods with computer-manipulated images, which are then printed, and hand finished

Kaleidoscope – Printed Textiles by Neil Bottle

One man show at Rochester Art Gallery. In the Kaleidoscope series, Neil Bottle explores the relationship between digital textile printing and craft printing techniques and how these seemingly opposing practices can coexist. A combination of the latest cutting-edge digital print techniques such as dye sublimation combined with craft traditions such as screen printing, discharge printing, pleating and shibori have been developed in the work. The Kaleidoscope series of wallhangings is printed in rich shades of scarlet, flame, teal and gold. These designs are in a sense autobiographical, representing an eclectic mixture of references, journeys and memories. A key focus in the work is to create a sense of depth and space on flat printed cloth, pushing the limitations of digital textile printing