To accompany Au Revoir Marilyn Sainty a Cabinet of Curiosities has been installed. Cabinets of Curiosities – which can be either a small room or an individual display cabinet – were developed by early European collectors to house collections of prized objects and were often notable for contents ranging from the precious to the bizarre and for their seemingly random organisation.

 

Marilyn Sainty has filled the display cabinet with a selection of 'curiosities' from her work space. These curiosities include bolts of fabric, swatches, photographs, invitations, labels, buttons, cards, postcards, and drawings, which as an assemblage gives clues about this designer's inspiration and the 'texture' of that inspiration.

 

Installed on the wall is a selection of Scotties carrier bags from over the last few years. In these bags we can see some familiar Marilyn Sainty design 'signatures' including an interest in contrast, pattern, punching, ribbon detailing, and collaboration with other artists. Seen together the changing appearance of these carrier bags demonstrates a playful sense of design experimentation. These bags are from the collections of various private owners who clearly treasure them as much as the garments they once held.