Output details
34 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
University of Derby
'The Time I'm Taking'
For the 14th International Triennial of Tapestry
Hand-stitched paper patchwork panels.
Six panels of hand-stitched paper patchwork were exhibited as one entry entitled 'The Time I’m Taking'.
Nomination was made by Professor Anne Morrell to represent the UK at the 14th International Triennial of Tapestry. Participating as one of three artists selected from Britain, this presented an exceptional opportunity to exhibit at the Central Museum of Textiles in Lodz and contribute to a published catalogue with artists from 51 countries. The Lodz Triennial is respected internationally as ‘the biggest and oldest exhibition promoting contemporary fiber art’.
‘The Time I’m Taking’ is sewn from the title pages of ‘In Search of Lost Time’ (1908-22) by Marcel Proust. The intention is to explore a philosophy of practice employing the time-consuming labour of needlework to convert to ‘cloth’ a classic text devoted to the subject of time. What might it mean to take time to dismantle then stitch together Proust’s Modernist text on time a hundred years after its production? In 2008 work began to cut up all seven volumes of ‘A la recherche du temps perdu’ and to stitch three thousand pages of print into patchwork. It will take considerably longer to hand sew this book than it took Proust to construct its narrative.
‘The Time I’m Taking’ responds to Proust’s commitment of time to conceive of and write his novel. Sewing through and with time becomes a concern in its own right and ‘The Time I’m Taking’ stands as an extension of the Proustian project achieved through textile practice. This amounts to an innovative research model that demonstrates how textile art can engage with a critical and theoretical investigation through the making process. Mary Schoeser refers to this piece in Textiles: The Art of Mankind (2012), as significant in its use of narrative and text to supply the textile with meaning. Originality and rigour lie in conceiving a new response to Proust’s text that engages textile art strategies.
