The Duvet of Love

David Shenton lived in Norwich between 1970 and 1990 when he was a teacher of graphic design and Head of Art at Notre Dame High School. He also worked in the Education Departments at the Probation Office and in Norwich Prison. The badges were both collected by David, during what was a political time for him and given to him by friends.

Some were bought from alternative shops in Norwich such as Head in the Clouds and an alternative shop on the corner of Rose Lane and King Street. Originally displayed in a rainbow formation on the wall of the donor's home, the badges were arranged on to the duvet cover in the early 1990s for an exhibition in London, where he then lived and worked, most notably as an illustrator for the 'Gay News' and 'The Guardian'.

David returned to Norwich and in 2016 the duvet was exhibited as part of the Norwich Pride arts exhibition ‘Pride Without Prejudice’, an open submission art exhibition celebrating the creative diversity of the City, held in St Margaret's Church, St Benedict's Street, Norwich.

This is what David says about 'The Duvet of Love': "I've always collected things and button badges are very easy to collect... from my Cycling Proficiency Badge from Junior School in the 1950s, when I'd have lapels-full on my blazer.. throughout my time at Art School in the 1960s, hippie badges, pop groups, advertising and holiday camps. I collected them all.I moved to Norwich in 1970 and collected badges from local businesses, pantomimes at the Theatre Royal, etc etc. I also came out at that time and collected all the political badges to do with Gay Rights and the Anti-Nazi League, and wore them with pride. In the 1980s, two of my close, Norwich friends died - Martin and Nicholas - they had died of Aids. I left Norwich in 1990 to work in London, and there, wondered what to do with the thousands of badges I had stashed in carrier bags... I decided to make this mosaic picture and began pinning the badges onto a black duvet cover. The picture isn't a portrait of Martin and Nicholas, it's just a memorial of my time in Norwich, with the local badges, of my friends, with the political LGBT+ badges, and the tragedy of their deaths, with the red AIDS ribbons... and yet I tried to make the picture as loving and as happy as I could. Now, I've retired and I've moved back to Norwich. You can imagine how happy I am that Norwich Museums have accepted my 'Duvet of Love' to be part of their collection." David Shenton 2018