Jo Atherton, a former Digswell Arts Trust Fellow  and now Trustee, who is well known in the local art community for her abstract creations, is currently displaying a collection of 14 flotsam tapestries entitled ‘Beyond the Horizon’ at London Luton Airport’s Gateway Gallery.

The theme for the exhibition is inspired by the coming together of people in the Terminal building, which is, in itself, a tapestry of transitory stories. Her winning entry has been handpicked from the Airport’s recent Gateway Gallery competition and will be on display for eight weeks.
All the materials used to create Jo Atherton’s unique flotsam tapestries were found washed-up on the Cornish coast. Balloons from France, Italian shipping tags and fishing gear from the Netherlands have been upcycled and all found their way into Jo’s intricate tapestries.
Describing the materials used in the creation of her work, Jo said: “Always surprising, never predictable, the sea curates relics and presents them to the shore; a temporary narrative replenished with each changing tide.”
She added: “I am repeatedly drawn to the Cornish coast which juts out into the North Atlantic Current, a tributary of the Gulf Stream. This coastline serves as a unique collection point for material from all over the planet and never fails to provide a thought-provoking artefact.”
With an average of 28,000 passengers travelling through the Airport every day, the Gateway Gallery competition has proven to be a fantastic opportunity for local artists from the Three Counties to showcase their artwork, as well as giving Airport passengers greater access to local artistic talent. Now in its seventh year, it is estimated that 63 million passengers and Airport employees have enjoyed exhibitions at the Gateway Gallery, which is run in partnership with Luton Culture.
For more information on the artist’s work, please visit http://www.FlotsamWeaving.com