Whitworth Art Gallery
'Conversation Pieces' (2003)Wooden hoops, silk crepeline, linen tape. Hand printed and stitched
272 x 74 x 5cms Commissioned by and in collection of Whitworth Art Gallery
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Context
'Conversation Pieces' evolved from observation of, and dialogue with the archivist, curators and conservators who work with the textile collection at the Whitworth Art Gallery. Ideas and themes relate to the loss of information, the empty spaces of memory and history as objects are collected and enter the museum environment. New histories are created as efforts are made to recover information and conserve the artefact. Placed in the museum context, and mostly physically disengaged from their historical period and place of origin, new associations and relationships are formed between artefacts, collector, institution, curator, keeper and conservator, recorded through museological and institutional systems.
Response
There are many pairs of hands represented here, engaged in repetitive and rhythmic activity, suggestive of time and care. The activities of making and conserving are recorded in layered images printed onto silk crepeline held under tension in embroidery hoops. Hands of makers are interleaved with those of the conservator and suspended over images of personalised tools and written material from the Whitworth archive. Reference is made to damage and repair and to the activities of previous carers of the collection as they endeavoured to piecing together the history of the object.. Annotations by hand, and the initialled activity of individual conservators demonstrate the intimate knowledge which conservator now shares with maker - ‘Washed by H.W.’ Imagery comes into and out of focus, appearing to be on the verge of dissolution. Colour fades in and out. Poignant phrases drawn from the archive details relate to destruction and care are printed on the outside of the embroidery hoops.