PHOTOS FROM THE STREATHAM FOOD FESTIVAL - OUR FIRST INSTALLATION OF THE DRESS
LATEST PROJECT: 'THE DRESS MY MOTHER WORE'
The project which was supported by Arts Council England, toured in 3 London boroughs (Lambeth, Tower Hamlets and Lewisham) and the first installation took place at the Streatham Food Festival on 8 June 2014 and featured in Praxis New Voices Festival at the Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green. It will next appear at Sunnyhill School & Streatham Festival in July, Brixton Splash Festival in August, Little Big Peace Festival, Streatham in September and the Horniman Museum on November 30 2014.
'The Dress...' celebrates the passing of narratives, memories and skills from generation to generation of ethnically diverse women who are living in London today. Dress is one of the most significant markers of gender identity, yet is only rarely explored in depth.
‘Dresses…..they contain someone's personal history...I find myself wondering about their lives. I can never look at a garment... without thinking about the woman who owned it.” Isabelle Wolff, Writer
Created by the Streatham Women’s Sewing Group working with artist Fion Gunn and craftswoman Ifrah Odawa, the dress has been constructed on a giant scale – 4.5m high and 3m in diameter. It has an inflatable core which allows it to sway when standing on the floor or to be filled with helium and hover in the air. It is suitable for indoor and outdoor events and is robust enough for repeated showings and easy transportation.
Paying homage to the vast totemic garments of Magdalena Abakanowicz, this dress which was sewn in sections, makes reference to the textile traditions of all the women who participate in making it. African waxed fabrics were used for the base of the dress which is a multi layered fabric collage encompassing a wide range of techniques; embroidery, lace, appliqué and felt-making, drawn from the Horn of Africa, Eastern Europe, North Africa, Benin, Pakistan, Ireland and the UK. On a personal level it has been inspired by the participants’ personal memories of how important life occasions were marked by different dresses in the lives of our mothers: the weddings, religious feast days, family birthdays, reunions and homecomings and reflects the ethnicities of the Sewing Group. The dress has a connection to all of our heritages and the final design will be one in which all the participants have input and a sense of ownership.
© 2014 Fion Gunn & Streatham Women's Sewing Group CIC
'The Dress...' celebrates the passing of narratives, memories and skills from generation to generation of ethnically diverse women who are living in London today. Dress is one of the most significant markers of gender identity, yet is only rarely explored in depth.
‘Dresses…..they contain someone's personal history...I find myself wondering about their lives. I can never look at a garment... without thinking about the woman who owned it.” Isabelle Wolff, Writer
Created by the Streatham Women’s Sewing Group working with artist Fion Gunn and craftswoman Ifrah Odawa, the dress has been constructed on a giant scale – 4.5m high and 3m in diameter. It has an inflatable core which allows it to sway when standing on the floor or to be filled with helium and hover in the air. It is suitable for indoor and outdoor events and is robust enough for repeated showings and easy transportation.
Paying homage to the vast totemic garments of Magdalena Abakanowicz, this dress which was sewn in sections, makes reference to the textile traditions of all the women who participate in making it. African waxed fabrics were used for the base of the dress which is a multi layered fabric collage encompassing a wide range of techniques; embroidery, lace, appliqué and felt-making, drawn from the Horn of Africa, Eastern Europe, North Africa, Benin, Pakistan, Ireland and the UK. On a personal level it has been inspired by the participants’ personal memories of how important life occasions were marked by different dresses in the lives of our mothers: the weddings, religious feast days, family birthdays, reunions and homecomings and reflects the ethnicities of the Sewing Group. The dress has a connection to all of our heritages and the final design will be one in which all the participants have input and a sense of ownership.
© 2014 Fion Gunn & Streatham Women's Sewing Group CIC
'Hair Routes' (left) 2011 'Somali Feast' 2010
'Hair Routes' is a fabric map of Lambeth where all the main roads Somali Feast is an embroidered/beadwork table cloth on which
the 'routes' through the borough are made from different kinds of plates also embroidered and patterned with beads are laden hair and landmarks are made from different patterned fabrics, beads with food (fake) which are replicas of traditional Somali recipes
and other objects. The recipes in Somali & English are also displayed.
Both artworks can be made available for appropriate events - by arrangement with the SWSG CIC.
the 'routes' through the borough are made from different kinds of plates also embroidered and patterned with beads are laden hair and landmarks are made from different patterned fabrics, beads with food (fake) which are replicas of traditional Somali recipes
and other objects. The recipes in Somali & English are also displayed.
Both artworks can be made available for appropriate events - by arrangement with the SWSG CIC.
.‘Spice Tent’ has been constructed according to the pictured design with a wooden framework, walls of fabric. The structure is 3.2m high and 3 x 3 m at the base.
The fabric walls are made from a mixture of different African waxed cottons interspersed with numerous ‘windows’ of different shapes and sizes and on different levels. The ‘windows’ are made from multi-coloured translucent fabric which will cast different coloured lights in the interior of the tent. Spice Tent can be erected on cement or on a grass surface - it is designed to be pegged down or freestanding.
Inside the tent we hang a series of ‘pouches’ which are filled with pungent spices: cloves, fennel, cinnamon, cardamom, garam masala, carob, black pepper etc. These pouches are hung at different levels so that adults and children alike are able to smell them.
Members of the public are invited to enter the tent in small groups and asked to guess the spices they’ve smelt. Outside the tent we run workshops making pomanders from oranges, limes and lemons which are then studded with cloves. The workshops are suitable for all age groups and abilities.
We believe that the project demonstrates the innovativeness and artistic excellence in evidence in our Group. The project has unique and diverse significance for the visitors from all communities and backgrounds and can be adapted for many different kinds of events. If you would like to feature 'Spice Tent' at an event you are organising please contact us for details.
The fabric walls are made from a mixture of different African waxed cottons interspersed with numerous ‘windows’ of different shapes and sizes and on different levels. The ‘windows’ are made from multi-coloured translucent fabric which will cast different coloured lights in the interior of the tent. Spice Tent can be erected on cement or on a grass surface - it is designed to be pegged down or freestanding.
Inside the tent we hang a series of ‘pouches’ which are filled with pungent spices: cloves, fennel, cinnamon, cardamom, garam masala, carob, black pepper etc. These pouches are hung at different levels so that adults and children alike are able to smell them.
Members of the public are invited to enter the tent in small groups and asked to guess the spices they’ve smelt. Outside the tent we run workshops making pomanders from oranges, limes and lemons which are then studded with cloves. The workshops are suitable for all age groups and abilities.
We believe that the project demonstrates the innovativeness and artistic excellence in evidence in our Group. The project has unique and diverse significance for the visitors from all communities and backgrounds and can be adapted for many different kinds of events. If you would like to feature 'Spice Tent' at an event you are organising please contact us for details.