Edward Burra: Dancing Skeletons recycled t-shirt

Help to close the loop with this grey t-shirt featuring Edward Burra’s Dancing Skeletons, 1934, made from recycled materials.

All of our custom print t-shirts are made to be returned to Teemill when they’re worn out, so they can be turned back into usable material and made into new t-shirts. This t-shirt is the end result of that ¬– created from 50% post-consumer remanufactured organic cotton and 50% organic cotton.

Edward Burra’s scene shows four brightly coloured skeletons dancing together, under a smiling skull-faced moon. It combines the humorous with the macabre: the brightness of the bony party scene is thrown into sharp contrast by the darkness around them, a gallows looming against the dark sky.

Size Guide:

Measuring tips – for your chest size, measure all round your chest just below your armpits. For waist, measure round your waistline (where your trousers would button up).

Extra Small: chest 86 cm, waist 71 cm.

Small: chest 91 cm, waist 76 cm.

Medium: chest 96 cm, waist 81 cm.

Large: chest 102 cm, waist 86 cm.

Extra Large: 112 cm, waist 91 cm.

About the artist

Edward Burra (1905 – 1976) was a British painter, illustrator and stage designer. He studied at Chelsea Polytechnic and the Royal College of Art, and became known for his skill at drawing figures. He mainly worked using watercolour and tempera, and sometimes collage oil paints, and was a member of the English Surrealist group, exhibiting in the now-famous London International Surrealist Exhibition, 1936. Opposed to all forms of cruelty and repression, he is well known for his paintings of the urban underworld, black culture and the Harlem scene of the 1930s, some of which form part of Tate’s collection.

About our manufacturer

We’ve partnered with Teemill for our collection of print-on-demand apparel featuring a choice of Tate artwork designs. A sustainable, forward-thinking company, their garments are made in a wind-and-solar powered, SA8000 Certified factory in India dedicated to the fair treatment of workers, using organic sustainably produced cotton. They’re printed using low-waste digital printing tech and vegan inks that conform to the GOTS/Soil Association organic criteria and are never tested on animals. The garments are printed with your chosen design on demand in Teemill’s Isle of Wight factory, so there’s no overstock and no waste, and they’re shipped to you in plastic-free, recyclable packaging (which is also great for colouring-in).

If looked after well, your t-shirt should last for years, and at the end of its life you can use the QR code on the label to send it back to Teemill, where it’ll be turned back into usable material and made into new t-shirts.

• Artist Edward Burra
• Artwork Dancing Skeletons
• Material 50% post-consumer remanufactured organic cotton and 50% organic cotton
• Date of work 1934
• Credit Gouache and ink on paper, 890 × 680 × 50 mm © Tate. Purchased 1939