A postcolonial subversion of The Strawberry Thief to document imperial thievery

A series of textile patterns as beautiful and as uncomfortable as the history they carry.

Each piece replaces William Morris's English garden characters with the flora and fauna the British Empire destroyed or exploited in its former colonies, protectorates, and territories. Each pattern documents the species its occupation damaged or destroyed: birds now endangered or extinct, plants cleared or exploited for plantation monocultures, ecosystems that have never recovered, cultural meanings erased.

I'm adding to this as I learn. Each edition begins with research into a region's ecology, its colonial history, what was taken and what remains.

— by CPYC

The Strawberry Thief (1883) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

The Strawberry Thief (1883) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Designed by William Morris (1883) Photograph © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Imperial Fruit Thieves - South Asia (2025-2026) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Imperial Fruit Thieves - South Asia (2025-2026) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

by CPYC

Asia

South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh) (Copy)

South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh) (Copy)

Malaya (Malaysia & Singapore) (Copy)

Malaya (Malaysia & Singapore) (Copy)

Hong Kong & China (Copy)

Hong Kong & China (Copy)

Burma / Myanmar (Copy)

Burma / Myanmar (Copy)

Sri Lanka / Ceylon (Copy)

Sri Lanka / Ceylon (Copy)

Pacific

Aotearoa / New Zealand (Copy)

Aotearoa / New Zealand (Copy)

Australia (Copy)

Australia (Copy)

Fiji (Copy)

Small Pacific States (Copy)

Small Pacific States (Copy)

Africa

Kenya (Copy)

East African Protectorates (Tanzania, Uganda, Zanzibar) (Copy)

East African Protectorates (Tanzania, Uganda, Zanzibar) (Copy)

Zimbabwe (Copy)

Zimbabwe (Copy)

South Africa (Copy)

South Africa (Copy)

Southern Africa Colonies (Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini/Swaziland) (Copy)

Southern Africa Colonies (Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini/Swaziland) (Copy)

Nigeria (Copy)

Ghana / Gold Coast (Copy)

Ghana / Gold Coast (Copy)

West African Protectorates (Sierra Leone + Gambia) (Copy)

West African Protectorates (Sierra Leone + Gambia) (Copy)

Palestine (Copy)

Palestine (Copy)

Egypt (Copy)

Kurdistan (Copy)

Kurdistan (Copy)

Iraq (Copy)

South West Asia & North Africa

The Americas & Caribbean

Turtle Island (Copy)

Turtle Island (Copy)

Jamaica (Copy)

Eastern Caribbean States (Copy)

Eastern Caribbean States (Copy)

Barbados (Copy)

Barbados (Copy)

Trinidad & Guyana (Copy)

Trinidad & Guyana (Copy)

Europe

Éire / Ireland (Copy)

Éire / Ireland (Copy)

Mediterranean Colonies (Cyprus, Malta, Gibraltar) (Copy)

Mediterranean Colonies (Cyprus, Malta, Gibraltar) (Copy)