Tumim & Prendergast

"Hippo Traveller" is one of a group of highly decorated toys, "Travellers". It was selected by the Canadian publishers, Arsenal Pulp Press, for the cover of Leanne Prain's forthcoming book, "Hoopla, the Art of Unexpected Embroidery", to be published in September 2011. Tumim & Prendergast are one of only 28 profiled contributors - five of whom are based in Europe.

"Travellers" is a work-in-progress - an attempt to pay homage to itinerant peoples as well as the persecuted, the lost and the discarded. Like many of T&P's projects "Travellers" is concerned with mortality. This group of highly embellished toy animals also symbolises a search for lost opportunities or lost youth. They were all found in charity shops and appear to have acquired nomadic properties as part of their journey. By embroidering and buttoning them T&P pay tribute to their unknown histories and reinvent them as beautiful objects. This project is expected to continue and it is hoped "Travellers" will be extended to include other toys, items of clothing and domestic objects in the near future.