In The Studio: the latest wall hanging

I’m in my studio today and have finished a weeks-long project that has developed in ways I hadn’t planned. What began as a new cushion cover design (I’ve previously made a Snug As A Buge cushion, here), took over and before I knew it, the piece crystalised into a textile wall hanging, titled ‘Owner Of Stuff’.

‘Owner Of Stuff’ is about hanging on to things - even the smallest of objects and seemingly worthless trinkets - because they hold a memory or they might come in handy one day or because “throwing things away is just wasteful”. I don’t doubt this has much to do with my family’s migrant experience and not having an infinite amount of possessions. My Nonna used to wash her cling film (Gladwrap in Australia) so she could resuse it (THAT is dedication to the cause). My grandparents knew where everything was as all possessions were accounted for and had their place. My dad keeps everything too - from every single plastic straw to pretty much ever pass our family's lips, an endless supply of elasctic bands and free napkins, to that empty 2 litre bottle in the car because you never know when you might need it if your car breaks down and need to fill it with petrol. Annoyingly, I did need that bottle once.

This piece has a lot of techniques and materials included: digital collage from Italian playing cards, hand beading, handmade heartshaped pompom fringing, ceramic rings wrapped in yarn and reclaimed fabric backing (reminiscent of curtains from my grandparents’ homes of my childhood).

You can see me talk more about ‘Owner Of Stuff’ here too!⚱️📿🧵💘