Through patchwork tapestry, my studio 4 project explores personal connections and relationships between family, friends and myself. Bringing together the people that were separated over the course of the pandemic through printed, painted and sewn portraits. While also addressing mental health issues that arose throughout this time period. These issues are presented as open questions: ‘are you happy?’ and ‘what support have you had?’ are a reflection of my thoughts. The piece titled ‘What is Normal?’ is the main question asked throughout this piece and is the most important question. For me, during this time it was easy to think the way I was feeling was not normal but I learnt that there is not one normal, everyone’s normal is different.

 

All the components of the piece feed into the personal quality of the tapestry. Each element has been thought about and selected for having personal meanings. For example: the fabrics used were given to me by friends, family and old school teachers. The brown thread connecting the patches was given by an old teacher when I first learnt to sew. The portraits are based on images of family and friends taken by me or of me during genuine moments. The text acts like a diary entry, as they are questions I have asked myself while reflecting on my feelings throughout the pandemic. The text appears to the audience like snippets from my diary, informal and grammatically incorrect at times as if it was written fast to get the thoughts onto paper. Linking to the idea that the tapestry is a way of working through these issues and feelings, with my hands instead of my head.

 

Through group crits, it was decided that using a range of media to create the portraits was effective for adding to the patchwork theme and bringing many elements together to create a multi textured tapestry. Selecting the fabric, medium and portrait was a significant part of the process. Some portraits had defined lines and could be sewn, normally on a plain material so the thread could be seen. Some portraits had more complex lines, making it easier to print these, so all the details could be seen. Thicker materials were used for paintings as they soaked up the paint less. Many of the patterned materials were used as the background for sewn felt text as the letters stood out against the fabric.

 

The exhibitions this year aided the development of the tapestry. The week 5 exhibition was an opportunity to experiment with piecing together these patches and allowed me to see what fabrics compliment each other, while using text to connect these patches and make the piece flow. The focus of the week 10 exhibition was to expand the tapestry and to explore ways of effectively exhibiting the piece. We thought about having it on the floor, wall, draped like a blanket. Following the idea that the piece was to act like a traditional tapestry, telling a story, it was decided it should be hung on the wall. Hanging it along a pole would give the piece presence and structure, showing its movements. The interim show allowed me to expand the piece further, giving an idea of the space it would need for the degree show. It was decided that for the tapestry to have a presence it would need to fill a space. The intention of the degree show is to have the tapestry filling a whole wall (around 14ftx9ft), allowing the audience to walk along it and to follow its movements.

 

Tracy Emin has been a major influence during my project as she works closely with her experiences with mental health while using brightly coloured patchwork quilts to portray this. I find that the bright colours put a positive spin on these issues, which is something I take into my own work. I have found that traditional tapestries have also influenced my work, they have been used throughout history to document stories. My tapestry links to this, documenting my own story as such, with portraits taken from moments during the pandemic and using text to wrap around these.

 

During these months of making the piece, there has been much wear and tear due to it being hand sewn. I’ve gone back over parts and repaired them, relating to my journey with mental health, it’s ever changing and shaping into different things. Issues go away and come back, like holes in the tapestry. Both can be repaired and shaped into something new.