Romy Philo

Between Wool and Gold is a hand-embroidered wearable textile artwork inspired by Jason and the Golden Fleece, exploring its symbolism through texture and materiality. With a background in Ancient History and Classics, Romy has long been drawn to the fantasy, magic and chaos of gods and heroes. Greek mythology intertwines supernatural adventure and the natural world with battle, tragedy, love and loss. This is reflected through the contrast of soft, organic materials with harder, inorganic ones.

Influenced by her materials, Romy evokes the atmosphere of the myth, imagining being wrapped in the fleece or standing in the forest where it was guarded. Material manipulation, particularly needle-felted organza, is central to the work’s development. Its light, ethereal quality creates a cloud-like presence, while experimentation with layering and stitched sampling shifts the project from narrative towards texture.

The piece combines traditional silk-shading and goldwork with spontaneous mark-making and tambour. Precise, traditional techniques loosen as the eye travels down, and materials transition from metal and rayon to wool, mohair and raffia. This unravelling suggests a return to its organic origin, a ram’s fleece, while gold threads retain its connection to mythology and magic. Measuring 3×0.9m, it can be worn and draped in multiple ways, inviting the wearer to inhabit and shape the narrative.