Motspur Park Gas Holders

As a part of my MA textile coursework, I created a textile art installation based on the now derelict Motspur Park Gas Holders.

My research focussed on the history and growth of Motspur Park, which is a suburb of London. It is an area that crosses the borough boundaries of Merton and Kingston yet has a distinct identity. Its initial sudden expansion from 1925 onwards was a result of the aspirational middle classes moving from inner London and over the ensuing years, incomers from all over the world have come to live here.

“The development of Suburbia has become a matter of lifestyle preference and one of the strongest markers of national identity” (Vesna Goldworthy, Suburban Identity, The Smith Institute, Chapter 1). Goldsworthy goes on to say that ” In the “New World” of suburbia, we are all incomers and we can all belong”. It is apparent to all who live here that this place is dynamic and constantly changing as infrastructure becomes obsolete and is renewed or replaced. This also highlights another strand of my research into change and transition that introduced me to the Buddhist doctrine of impermanence, whereby change is embraced with an affirmative attitude and can be liberating, for example, recognising that illness will pass.

My textile art installation of the gas holders is made with material circularity in mind entirely from discarded domestic fabrics (tea-towels, net curtains, tablecloths and so on) that have been part and parcel of everyday suburban life in Motspur Park over the last 100 years. These fabrics are instantly recognisable and many viewers have commented on my use of doilies like their Gran used.

This video was created with the gas holders in the background to test if my proposed material choices work.

Below are some examples of the individual pieces of the textile gas holder.

The textile gas holder final piece has been exhibited in a number of exhibitions, both in Motspur Park itself and across London. If you would like to see it, please follow me on Instagram: sarahmcalister.textileart to get tour dates.

Visitors to the Canvas and Collective exhibition at Morley Gallery in March 2025 experienced a sense of calm and serenity when standing inside this interpretation of the Motspur Park gas holder. If your exhibition space or gallery would like to host the gas holder installation, then please contact me .