The Quilts by Carina Ripley
From the very beginning we have been fascinated by the idea of sharing stories in the way that, based on myth and legend, we believe the elders used to; that the questions of our own lives can be answered through the seemingly disconnected stories of others. We wanted to create a space that allowed people to listen and talk, while taking part in a shared activity.
As the art director for the project I am interested in the connections between the patchwork of voices and the physical patchwork quilt and how we can bring those elements together during an installation. During the planning stage for PS’14 we were concerned that those who chose to share their stories with us have something to take away from the experience. It was decided that each person who shared a story would choose a piece of fabric (sourced from the homes of the group), they would keep a small strip and the rest would be saved to go into the quilt during the installation, you can read more about this choice here.
For PS’15 we kept with that same process of choosing and sharing. However we wanted to be more intentional with the fabric choices. PS'15 was framed by the myth 'The Tale of tatterhood' a story that includes beautiful imagery - we decided to use fabric that echos the beauty of the story. We chose only think, sturdy fabric, cut into uniform squares and sewn together with thick, strong thread.
Ultimately I would like to make a piece of art using the finished quilt; as we take Patchwork Stories further, seeing what it can become as we make connections between people and countries we will create more quilts, share more stories and touch more people and their lives.
From the very beginning we have been fascinated by the idea of sharing stories in the way that, based on myth and legend, we believe the elders used to; that the questions of our own lives can be answered through the seemingly disconnected stories of others. We wanted to create a space that allowed people to listen and talk, while taking part in a shared activity.
As the art director for the project I am interested in the connections between the patchwork of voices and the physical patchwork quilt and how we can bring those elements together during an installation. During the planning stage for PS’14 we were concerned that those who chose to share their stories with us have something to take away from the experience. It was decided that each person who shared a story would choose a piece of fabric (sourced from the homes of the group), they would keep a small strip and the rest would be saved to go into the quilt during the installation, you can read more about this choice here.
For PS’15 we kept with that same process of choosing and sharing. However we wanted to be more intentional with the fabric choices. PS'15 was framed by the myth 'The Tale of tatterhood' a story that includes beautiful imagery - we decided to use fabric that echos the beauty of the story. We chose only think, sturdy fabric, cut into uniform squares and sewn together with thick, strong thread.
Ultimately I would like to make a piece of art using the finished quilt; as we take Patchwork Stories further, seeing what it can become as we make connections between people and countries we will create more quilts, share more stories and touch more people and their lives.
