In the Design House | Justine Randall

Justine Randall
Midnight, Moonlight & Shadows
2016
Wool, cotton warp
170 x 170 cm
66 ⅞ x 66 ⅞ in.

The passing of time from day to night, the changing of the seasons and the ways in which nature's colour palette shifts, dissipates, and re-emerges have a direct effect on Justine Randall's emotions and psyche. With her chosen medium of textiles, where 'colour seems more real and vital' she has captured these fluctuations in light, temperature, colour and emotion in her Night Sky Tapestries, which were shown in the Main Gallery from the 29th November 2025 to the 12th April this year. Midnight, Moonlight & Shadows and Dusk are now on display in the Design House.

There is a contrast between the density of the tapestries, and the transient moments of light that they portray. The variations between the intensity of night, and the fading light of the early evening, are achieved by adjusting the weight and sett of the warp and weft, in combination with using different yarns. She sources all her wool sustainably from British sheep, and dyes her own yarn. This meticulous control and understanding of her medium allows Randall to highlight the emotive reactions that different times of day induce.

Weaving her tapestries on building scaffolding ensures that the work can be seen in it’s entirety throughout the creative process. Although she sometimes references a cartoon, she prefers to loosely mark the warps and then weave freely, making decisions about colour, line and texture as she works.

Between 1986 and 1988 Randall studied at the Royal College of Art under Mary Farmer, who oversaw the movement of the Tapestry Course into the School of Fine Art. The fact that Randall was taught in the Fine Art Department, as opposed to a specific Textile Course, can be seen in her use of colour and composition, which has a painterly, abstract quality.

Justine Randall, Midnight, Moonlight & Shadows, 2016, detail.

'Fear, shapes in the dark, distortion, the light casts shadows, familiar sights become unreal. Trees merge as one and appear differently, even one’s own shadow can appear menacing.' (Justine Randall)


Randall calls into question why darkness causes so much discomfort, disorientation and fear. By opting for a thicker weft, Midnight, Moonlight & Shadows exudes a weighted presence, much like the oppressive feeling of standing beneath a great tree at night.
The grey lines are the shadows cast by the moon, falling on the uppermost surfaces of the trees.

Justine Randall
Dusk
2018
Wool, cotton warp
170 x 170 cm
66 ⅞ x 66 ⅞ in.

‘I was in a friends garden that had a distant view of the city, the lights from the city created a streak of light pollution, a brilliant yellow green stripe just above the horizon, combined with the glorious blue sky, it inspired me to weave this piece.’
(Justine Randall)

Dusk is often the time when the sky is the most vivid shade of blue, it denotes the start of evening and the end of the working day. Like the line of light tightly woven at the bottom of this tapestry, Dusk represents feelings of excitement and apprehension, the tension of potential for what the night ahead may bring.

Justine Randall, Midnight, Moonlight & Shadows and Dusk in the Design House.

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