In a Belfast museum, embroiderers are at work depicting gory battles and warring kings in shimmering threads of red and gold – an epic homage to the TV phenomenon Game of Thrones.
The team of volunteers at the Ulster Museum are putting the final touches to a 90-metre (300-foot) tapestry depicting all eight seasons of the fantasy saga, which concluded in May.
Game of Thrones, which first hit screens in 2011, was produced and chiefly filmed in studios in Belfast and in the Northern Irish countryside.
Valerie Wilson, costume and textiles curator at National Museums Northern Ireland, said tapestry was an ideal storytelling device.
“The length of the tapestry allows the story to unfold, so in many ways it’s the perfect medium for telling the story of the Game of Thrones project.”
Styled in the manner of the treasured Bayeux Tapestry – which depicts the 11th-century Norman conquest of England – the completed piece will be transported to France to hang near its predecessor in September.
“This tapestry references the Bayeux Tapestry in that it has a series of repeated icons through it,” said Wilson.
The panels of the piece are woven by machine before the finishing touches are put on by hand.
A team of 30 has worked on and off for two years on the tapestry, stitching embellishments on icons such as “blood red weddings”, “emerald green wildfire” and “cold-blue White Walkers” that were pivotal the HBO drama.
As they did their best to reflect the true nature of the at times extremely violent series, the museum display comes with a warning: “Due to the depiction of graphic scenes, viewing of the tapestry is not suitable for anyone under the age of 18.”
After completing series one to seven, the team is working on stitching the eighth and final series.
Those contributing to the project – like actors in the show – have been asked to sign non-disclosure agreements.
“It was very crucial when the project launched that it had that new, fresh, almost surprise element,” Wilson said.
After the embellishments are completed, the final panels will be added to the display of series one to seven already on show to Ulster museum visitors.
“I think it’s really beautiful,” said Abbie Merrick – a diehard fan of Game of Thrones, who spent a morning walking her mother through the intricately woven plot.
“I think tapestry’s a really beautiful art form and a really nice way of storytelling.”
