The Pirates exhibition may have left National Maritime Museum Cornwall (NMMC) and headed off to Royal Museums Greenwich, but its legacy lives on in a most unusual way.
National Maritime Museum Cornwall has partnered with Bodmin College student and 2024 DofE ‘Innovator of the Year’, Josh Ellicott, to find a sustainable solution for the repurposing of its Pirates exhibition banners.
With the black and red tones of the Pirates exhibition replaced by the vibrant orange and checkerboard print theme for new exhibition, SURF!, there was no opportunity to recycle any of the fabric. Committed to reducing waste across its exhibitions, NMMC set out to find an innovative way to give these exhibition items a new lease of life.
Thanks to a lead provided by PARC Signs, who have installed the SURF! exhibition, Year 13 student, Josh Ellicott, took on the challenge of repurposing the canvas from the Pirates banners to create a range of striking bespoke jackets.
Richard Doughty, Museum Director, explains: “One of our core strategic objectives is to become an environmentally sustainable organisation. We proactively seek to inspire conversations about the importance of clean oceans, rivers and lakes for wildlife. When delivering creative and cultural activities, we want to do all we can to avoid damaging the environment. Therefore, we reuse or repurpose everything we possibly can. Tough materials like banners can often be very difficult to reuse, so I’m delighted Josh has taken on the challenge!”
Josh, who sells textile products through his company, Moorepace, prides himself on his ability to give new life to any fabric. His work includes bags made from an old Boardmasters tent and a waterproof jacket made from scrap materials.
Josh said: “I’m always up for a challenge and I hadn’t tackled canvas of this kind before, but the images of pirates and the designs were great. I had the vision, I just had to make it happen.”
The outer shell of each piece is made from the Pirates canvas, whilst the inside is fully quilt-lined by hand, by Josh using recycled polyester. Each piece is unique.
One of Josh’s completed jackets displays the name ‘Mary Read’ on the front, with details of her pirate career, birth and death on the shoulder, and an illustration of her and her accomplice on the back.
Josh has sold two jackets, and a third is due to be shipped to Canada. The Moorepace order book is filling up, with two more jackets to complete for a customer in Spain.
Josh added: “I have enough banner material to make another three or four in addition to a very special piece for my final exam. I’ve saved all the best bits for that!
“I’ve really enjoyed working with these banners – it’s something I’d look to do again if I spot a good design. I’ve started to venture into trousers as well, so watch this space!”
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