Abstract
With/In/Significant Textiles is a collection of six artist books made in response to the question: What is a significant textile? The books are made from textiles that were significant, in one way or another, to their original owner but which have since been discarded. The books invite those ‘reading’ them to reflect on the meaning of textiles in their own lives.
Across the country small local museums are run by volunteers who often have little or no formal training in curatorship. They receive donations from many sources and regularly face the problem of deciding which of these objects are significant enough to enter their collection. They are also faced with the decision about how to deal with artefacts deemed not to meet those criteria. This suite of artist books proposes that the significance of textiles is mutable and highly dependent on context. A textile that was once significant and then discarded can be made significant again by being approached in a different way and placed in a different context. If offers a strategy whereby the value of ‘unwanted’ or ‘insignificant’ textiles might be reconsidered.
The artist books were exhibited as part of the Have Poets Left a Patch to Sew exhibition at the HR Gallop Gallery in 2017. Participation in this exhibition was as the result of a competitive selection process. A writing workshop was held in conjunction with the exhibition and a catalogue published.
Across the country small local museums are run by volunteers who often have little or no formal training in curatorship. They receive donations from many sources and regularly face the problem of deciding which of these objects are significant enough to enter their collection. They are also faced with the decision about how to deal with artefacts deemed not to meet those criteria. This suite of artist books proposes that the significance of textiles is mutable and highly dependent on context. A textile that was once significant and then discarded can be made significant again by being approached in a different way and placed in a different context. If offers a strategy whereby the value of ‘unwanted’ or ‘insignificant’ textiles might be reconsidered.
The artist books were exhibited as part of the Have Poets Left a Patch to Sew exhibition at the HR Gallop Gallery in 2017. Participation in this exhibition was as the result of a competitive selection process. A writing workshop was held in conjunction with the exhibition and a catalogue published.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Media of output | Artwork |
| Publication status | Published - 2017 |