The Artist Tea Towel Company commissioned a tea towel-as-artwork from Thompson for its inaugural collection in 2016.
The tea towels are individually for sale from the Artist Tea Towel Company and from museum and gallery shops in the UK and beyond. In addition the tea towels can be displayed either singly or as a group as a piece of art in its own right.
Thompson’s design for Artist Tea Towel Company, ‘Hunter watching the beach’ originates from a painting made for her exhibition 'Cougar' at Westminster Waste gallery in 2016. Much of the work in ‘Cougar’, including the design for the tea towel, depict older women at leisure on exotic beaches in a carefree, unselfconscious state of déshabillée. Through schematic compositions and saturated colours, the imagery reflects Thompson’s interest in fashion and commodity, and the representation of women in art and culture generally. The use of the Artist Tea Towel Company logo as a watermark reveals the artist’s interest in branding and image ownership. These research streams continue to be investigated through practice and exhibition. For ‘A Room of Our Own', part of 'Idea Home Show’ at MIMA, Artist Tea Towel Company’s inaugural collection is displayed in an exhibition questioning alternative living ideas and the value of domestic objects and regeneration.