Proposal for a Walk
Proposal for a Walk, recycled fabric quilts, poles, 2019, dimensions variable
Proposal for a Walk (artist’s book), Blurb book, 2019, 21x13.5cm
Proposal for a Walk, recycled fabric quilts, poles, 2019, dimensions variable
Proposal for a Walk (artist’s book), Blurb book, 2019, 21x13.5cm
The
project was conceived in response to the coincidence of attending the Women’s
March in New York at the same time as being interested in the idea of the space
of the sky in between the skyscrapers. It happened that the Women’s March was
the best opportunity to take photos that required me to stand in the middle of
an intersection. The coming together of a highly politicised event and the very
formalist photos I took seemed like a really interesting contrast of aesthetic
and activism. I became interested in the idea of combining the formalist photos
and the action of a march so that the one subverted the other.
I used the quilt as a form that is associated historically with both women’s work and collective making due to the feminist associations of the Women’s March. However, these banner-quilts make an ambiguous statement: What are the banners saying? Who are they addressed to? What is the point of public action in a world where politicians don’t seem to care what the public thinks? These notions are addressed in the work through the idea of collective making as collective action. As such, I conducted two workshops in which friends helped me make a quilt, as a way of making space for discussion and connection, facilitated by the physical process of hand-making. The title of the project refers again to the idea of public address, a gesture towards the future potential of the quilts as the instigators of collective action.
I used the quilt as a form that is associated historically with both women’s work and collective making due to the feminist associations of the Women’s March. However, these banner-quilts make an ambiguous statement: What are the banners saying? Who are they addressed to? What is the point of public action in a world where politicians don’t seem to care what the public thinks? These notions are addressed in the work through the idea of collective making as collective action. As such, I conducted two workshops in which friends helped me make a quilt, as a way of making space for discussion and connection, facilitated by the physical process of hand-making. The title of the project refers again to the idea of public address, a gesture towards the future potential of the quilts as the instigators of collective action.