I Live Temporary

On Friday 11 May I visited Media City in Salford for the preview of an incredible exhibition by arthur+martha, the project introduction reads as follows:

Customised postcards, sound recordings and an epic tweet poem carry tiny stories, little snatches of homeless people’s lives. These voices are often unheard, but they have insight to offer everyone.   Combining text, sound and image, I LIVE TEMPORARY is a report from life outside the borders of comfort and acceptance. Funny, sad, angry, resigned - here are all the human colours. arthur+martha work with people who are pushed to the margins of society – older people in hospital, excluded school pupils, holocaust survivors and many others.  

                                                                                

The exhibition is on at The Egg, University of Salford, Media City UK, Salford, M50 2EQ and is open Friday 11th May - Friday 1st June, admission is free.

I was fascinated by the use of digital media to present the work created by arthur+martha and took some snapshots that I wanted to share with you. The exhibition used digital tables to display digital postcards which the viewer could interact with. They also showed a Twitter feed on one of the tables, you can take a look at the Tweets at @tweetfromengels  

The Warm and the Cold part four

On Friday 27 April I visited The Big Issue office and The Booth Centre again to work on the project with Phil. In the morning the offices were really quiet and it gave myself and Phil a chance to chat about the project.

We chatted to some of the guys who were passing through the offices and I wanted to share some of the quotes from people we met. These quotes really stood out for me and I hope to incorporate them into my stitched pieces.

“The cold comes at Christmas, December”

“Well wrapped up, double clothing on top of thermals”

“The rain was solid”

I took the chance to photograph a few of the pieces Lois has been working on and I was drawn to the delicate worn patches on the denim and the detail of the hand stitching.

Cold depends on where you are, stitched detail

The Warm and the Cold, stitched detail

Cold depends on where you are, I found it really interesting that the maker had chosen to write the word where onto a piece of denim with wear on it

 In the afternoon at The Booth Centre we discussed the feeling of cold from childhood, this was an interesting talking point because of the way in which our childhood often informs our adult lives. Once again there were some really standout quotes that I want to take forward into my work.

“I’ve felt the cold all my life, I felt the cold then and now”

“Kids don’t feel the cold, they play with no coat on”

“Blood runs faster when you’re young”.

“The fire slowly fizzling out”

“I remember seeing snow for the first time, trying to walk on ice for the first time”

While Phil was chatting to some of the guys at the centre, I was getting some of them involved in stitching and drawing onto the denim. 

Several stitched and written pieces of denim

Cold depends on where you are, full image

I've fel the cold all my life, stitched detail

Why, stitched detail

 Sadly I won’t actually be going along to Manchester for a few weeks but it does give other people a chance to get involved and I get to resolve my own pieces and get them photographed to share with you all.

*****IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP OUT ON THE PROJECT BY DOING SOME EMBROIDERY OR QUILTING PLEASE GET IN TOUCH VIA EMAIL*****

The Warm and the Cold part three

Unfortunately the session on 20 April had to be cancelled which gave me an opportunity to reflect on the session from 13 April and type up my notes. During the session at The Booth Centre I made some notes as the group was talking and I made a note of several quotes:

“Cold and wet, the wind cuts through”

“A nice hot shower, stand under there for hours!” 

“I was too angry to be cold”

“My body, my muscles hurt from shivering”

“The experience of being cold makes you appreciate the warm”

“It’s once you are wet, every minute feels like an hour!”

“My emotions were cold knowing that my dad was there for Christmas and I wasn’t”

“I hope you never experience it, I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy”

“I had a t-shirt on, a pair of jeans”

These quotes have inspired me and I am now thinking about how I can incorporate them into some stitched pieces. The piece of denim I brought home with me has now been embroidered and I am really pleased with the results.

I will be going to work on the denim pieces that Lois has begun to piece together and hopefully get some more inspiration for my own pieces.

*****PLEASE GET IN TOUCH TO DONATE ANY OLD JEANS AND DENIM TO THE PROJECT*****

The Warm and the Cold part two

On 25^th March I blogged about a fantastic project I am involved in with the artists arthur+martha. The Warm and the Cold project which takes its title from the Ted Hughes poem is about working with homeless people to create quilts and blankets. Here is an extract from the poem; you can find the full version of the poem on Poem Hunter

Freezing dusk is closing

Like a slow trap of steel

On trees and roads and hills and all

That can no longer feel.

But the carp is in its depth

Like a planet in its heaven.

And the badger in its bedding

Like a loaf in the oven.

And the butterfly in its mummy

Like a viol in its case.

And the owl in its feathers

Like a doll in its lace.

The project kicked off at The Big Issue offices in Manchester where I met up with Phil and Lois. Lois was busy stitching some pieces of denim and Phil was chatting to an Irish Traveller about his life and the word cold. For this particular guy the word cold mean the feeling of coldness inside when his mother passed away just a short time ago. Phil felt privileged to be told such an emotional story and I was overwhelmed with how this stranger could share something so personal with us.

After Phil left the offices to visit some of the sellers out in Manchester city centre, Lois and I were chatting with our new Irish friend about family amongst other things! He asked if we had any red and green thread and Lois pulled some tapestry wool from her stash. I plaited together three strands of the wool to make a wristband and tied it round his wrist. He was so grateful I got a kiss on the hand and I remembered why I love making things for people and utilising my textile skills. This gave me an extra push and I realised why I had wanted to work on the project in the first place.

When Phil came back to the office we chatted about his experience visiting some of the sellers. He had bumped into some of the guys that he had Lois had worked with before and were pleased to hear that their lives had improved. On guy came and sat with us for a few minutes and chatted about the project. It was clear that his life and really improved and he wanted to now help other homeless people to better their situation.

Listening to somebody who is devoted to the issues surrounding homelessness and how to end it made me think about the stereotype many people think of when they see a homeless person. The man I met was passionate and eloquent not a drunk or drug addict begging for change.

The office was fairly quiet so it gave Phil and Lois a chance to discuss the project and I felt privileged to be involved in their discussion because I just starting out and they are established practitioners. It was interesting to see their working processes and how they discuss a new project. As I have never worked collaboratively it was great to see how they do things.

In the afternoon we moved to The Booth Centre which is a day centre that offers advice and activities for homeless people in Manchester. The centre is a really great place where people meet each week and learn new skills, participate in group discussions and have fun. The people there made us feel so welcome and we got to eat lunch with them which included a fantastic homemade cake which a lady takes in every Friday.

After lunch we sat around the table and introduced ourselves to the group, Lois and Phil explained a little bit about the project and what we would be getting up to. We were joined by Sarah, one of my fellow MA students who works with printmaking techniques. The group shared some of their stories about the cold which were all different and moving.

One man shared how he had fled from Iraq to Iran in freezing conditions, he told us this harrowing story but kept smiling throughout which was a sign of his strength. Another man shared a story about sleeping in a bus station and how the automatic doors constantly opening made him feel so cold. Everyone had a different story to tell and I was moved by just how open and honest people were and how they could share their stories with us.

After we broke for a cuppa and a smoke for some of us, we all got stuck in to creating some pieces of work relating to the stories people had told. Sarah did some mono printing using words and phrases that people had shared. Lois and I got people to stitch onto pieces of denim which she had prepared earlier. I was really inspired by the idea of the denim because it’s a fabric that transcends all social and class barriers. You can pick up a pair of jeans for a fiver or a few hundred pounds.

 

After chatting with some of the people at the centre, we discovered that they spoke lots of different languages including Hindi and Afrikaans. So Lois and I asked people to write in different languages on the fabric while Phil was getting people to write poetry. I was so taken with a beautiful piece of fabric which had a phrase written on it in Hindi and English.

I have begun to embroider this in colours given to me by the author and I’m really pleased with the results thus far.

I am going back to Manchester tomorrow to do some more work at The Big Issue and Booth Centre so I will be blogging again very soon.

Mirror Images

I have been busy over the last week or so working on my feminist failings pieces of work and I have made several samples for each of the failings. Making these samples has made me think differently about how these pieces could be displayed and I have decided to make some objects rather than a series of embroideries.

The first of these objects I decided to work on was for failing number four, which is about using my looks to get ahead. Trying to keep things humorous I chose to make it a fun play on a fairy tale:

Once upon a time I used my looks to get ahead, I would like people to note that I was not inspired by the Julia Roberts film as I don’t even go to the cinema!

This is the first image I decided to create using an ornate frame printed on inkjet fabric:

I then decided to try and make this piece have the reflective qualities of a mirror so I went fabric shopping which is no hardship! I found a silver fabric which is highly reflective and difficult to stitch for several reasons, the first being that the light you need to stitch bounces back off the fabric.  

This sample again uses and ornate frame on inkjet fabric but incorporates the silver fabric:

I felt that the silver fabric could be used to stitch into and then frame to create my own mirror. Once again the stitching was difficult as the fabric is so reflective! I haven’t finished the piece as I don’t know if I would like to continue with this idea.

My next step is to get even more creative and use acrylic mirror to stitch into and create a stitch reflective surface. I have the acrylic on order and can’t wait to get started when it arrives (bloody bank holidays getting in the way of the post!)