The Politics of Lace in Kate Evans’ Threads: From the Refugee Crisis (2017)

EARLE, Harriet (2020). The Politics of Lace in Kate Evans’ Threads: From the Refugee Crisis (2017). The Comics Grid : Journal of Comics Scholarship, 10 (1), p. 13.

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Abstract

Kate Evans’ 2017 comic Threads: From the Refugee Crisis chronicles her visits to the ‘Jungle’ refugee camp in Calais, where she volunteered with a group of other British nationals to help build shelters and offer general assistance to those in the camp. The comic is bookended with double - page spreads that depict traditional lace making processes. Calais is particularly famous for lace production and it is a trade that has long been the domain of women. In addition, lace is used throughout the comic in the gutters of the pages. This paper considers the use of lace throughout the comic. Beginning with a brief history of the fabric itself, I argue that the use of lace provides a clear socio-political and cultural framework by which we can read the comic, positioning the stories of refugees within representational frameworks governed by white, European artistic and cultural production. Moreover, the lace can be read as a metaphor for the geopolitical interactions which led to the massive displacement of people and, so, the creation of the Jungle.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.16995/cg.215
Page Range:	p. 13
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Elements
Depositing User:	Symplectic Elements
Date Deposited:	14 Oct 2020 12:19
Last Modified:	17 Mar 2021 19:00
URI:	https://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27396

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