Loss & Inheritance Drop-in

As part of the Loss & Inheritance exhibition exploring perception of age, the group ran a drop-in print and stitch workshop developed by myself & Simone Frater-Russell. We asked people to answer one or all the following questions:

1. What does your age mean to you?
2. What have you learnt from a loved one?
3. What skill could you pass on?

We wanted to explore the notion of ‘worth’ and inheritance being something more than financial. People had the option to create a print using recycled pizza base, to stitch by hand or to just write and one of our team would stitch their quote either by hand or machine. We had a selection of plain and patterned fabrics cut ready. The squares were then assembled into a patchwork and displayed at the private view of the exhibition. A second patchwork was made on the Friday. We are hoping to join them together and display them publicly as a record of everyone’s responses.

It was good to overhear participants giving each other tips and teaching new stitches. The workshop created an impetus for discussion on all three questions, the exhibition and ageing in general. It was noticeable that although people would openly talk about their feelings and thoughts on ageing, they generally chose one of the other questions to respond to on their square.