Handkerchiefs
Harrison, Diana (2013) Handkerchiefs. [Installation, Textiles]
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This site-specific textile installation was made for the international exhibition Cloth and Memory 2 at Salts Mill, Yorkshire. Research was based on visits to the vast redundant spinning area of the mill, where my thoughts turned to past working lives. I was drawn to the floor: the large grey flagstones are irregularly sized rectangles carefully fitted together to make an indestructible industrial surface. Inspired by how these stones were fitted, and the water stains from a leaking roof, I decided to make something at ground level to be walked around and observed from above.
Research into the mill, the workers, and their life/work conditions informed my choice to focus on the handkerchief, as a common but largely historic artefact, owned by most, for use or simply as commemorative gifts. I collected hundreds of vintage hankies, from different shops and people, and even some found on the street.
Every handkerchief had a memory embedded in it: a monogram, a hand embroidered edge, worn holes, stains or folds. Each piece was worked on individually, dyed black, destroying its individuality temporarily; but the details, weave, initials, embroidery and edges all came back to life through discharge printing to different tones and colour. The final piece grew over six months, handkerchiefs being positioned and stitched dependent on size, colour and quality of cloth.
This installation piece was the largest and most ambitious textile I have created. It is different from previous work and generated new and challenging ways of thinking, working, constructing and exhibiting. The exhibition as a whole was about pushing the boundaries of textiles and all 23 artists responded to the extraordinary site embracing dirt, dust, history and space. The work is documented/discussed in Cloth and Memory 2 (ed. Lesley Millar, Salts Estates Ltd, 2013), to which I also contributed.
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