In this article, I consider one specific artistic choice made in the creation of the book – the use of lace in the gutters of each page. Evans talks with many of the refugees in these camps, she joins volunteer squads to sort through donations and helps in any way she is able. Over the course of the comic, she outlines the trips she and her husband took to the site, and to another in nearby Dunkirk.

Kate Evans’ 2017 comic Threads: From the Refugee Crisis is an account of Evans’ trips to the ‘Jungle’ refugee camp in Calais in 2015. Moreover, the lace can be read as a metaphor for the geopolitical interactions which led to the massive displacement of people and, so, the creation of ‘the Jungle’.

Beginning with a brief history of the fabric itself, it is argued that the use of lace provides a clear socio-political and cultural framework by which we can read the comic, positioning the stories of refugees within representational frameworks governed by white, European artistic and cultural production. Using close textual and visual analysis, this article considers the use of lace throughout the comic. In addition, lace is used throughout the comic in the gutters of the pages. Calais is particularly famous for lace production and it is a trade that has long been the domain of women. The comic is bookended with double-page spreads that depict traditional lace making processes. Kate Evans’ 2017 comic Threads: From the Refugee Crisis chronicles her visits to the ‘Jungle’ refugee camp in Calais, where she volunteered with a group of other British nationals to help build shelters and offer general assistance to those in the camp.

Mine kate evans