Title: Ceasefire in Gaza
Year: 2024
Media: Found cotton t-shirt, found and donated embroidery, cotton thread
I started making Ceasefire in Gaza in the weeks following October 11.
The events following October 11, against the backdrop of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, ongoing since the creation of Israel last century, are incredibly distressing and harder to bear when there seems to be little one can do, especially if one does not have the capacity to offer material help in the form of eg. donations of help, or money.
I was in South India at this time. I had been wanting to undertake study in yoga practice. Instead I found myself in the company of many Israeli tourists for whom India seems to offer a way to exorcise their experiences of military service. I felt for them. I felt also their denial. Very few seemed to be able to discuss the foundations on which their country had been built. I felt alone in Varkala, lush and lovely place, and seemingly so remote from catastrophe unfolding, I roamed the streets restlessly unable to focus on anything. In Louis I found a companion who didn't mind me sitting on his floor with my scroll, and in his workshop a job into which I poured myself. As Louis sews, he throws his offcuts on the floor and when I met him he was knee deep in fabric that had piled up over months, and the mould and dust collected within often set him to coughing fits. I like helping people clean their workspaces and homes. Cleaning in this instance felt important. I felt useful.
The process of sorting the offcuts yielded lovely fragments of cloth. With Palestine on my mind, I thought of protest t-shirts, I had seen beautiful examples executed in print by painter Ruth Waller. Though protest t-shirts are traditionally printed, the abundance of material suggested applique, which appealed to me because I enjoy the calming and consuming experience of hand sewing. I needed to find a way to focus. As I sewed on over the next months, I felt the stitching as a way of prayer.
I completed the t-shirt in 2024. It took about four months. The writing says "Ceasefire" in languages of Urdu, Hindi, Hebrew, Yolŋu dharuk, and English.
I wear the t-shirt when I know I will be going into a busy public space, such as a shopping mall, airport, or public event, to voice an end to madness.
Year: 2024
Media: Found cotton t-shirt, found and donated embroidery, cotton thread
I started making Ceasefire in Gaza in the weeks following October 11.
The events following October 11, against the backdrop of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, ongoing since the creation of Israel last century, are incredibly distressing and harder to bear when there seems to be little one can do, especially if one does not have the capacity to offer material help in the form of eg. donations of help, or money.
I was in South India at this time. I had been wanting to undertake study in yoga practice. Instead I found myself in the company of many Israeli tourists for whom India seems to offer a way to exorcise their experiences of military service. I felt for them. I felt also their denial. Very few seemed to be able to discuss the foundations on which their country had been built. I felt alone in Varkala, lush and lovely place, and seemingly so remote from catastrophe unfolding, I roamed the streets restlessly unable to focus on anything. In Louis I found a companion who didn't mind me sitting on his floor with my scroll, and in his workshop a job into which I poured myself. As Louis sews, he throws his offcuts on the floor and when I met him he was knee deep in fabric that had piled up over months, and the mould and dust collected within often set him to coughing fits. I like helping people clean their workspaces and homes. Cleaning in this instance felt important. I felt useful.
The process of sorting the offcuts yielded lovely fragments of cloth. With Palestine on my mind, I thought of protest t-shirts, I had seen beautiful examples executed in print by painter Ruth Waller. Though protest t-shirts are traditionally printed, the abundance of material suggested applique, which appealed to me because I enjoy the calming and consuming experience of hand sewing. I needed to find a way to focus. As I sewed on over the next months, I felt the stitching as a way of prayer.
I completed the t-shirt in 2024. It took about four months. The writing says "Ceasefire" in languages of Urdu, Hindi, Hebrew, Yolŋu dharuk, and English.
I wear the t-shirt when I know I will be going into a busy public space, such as a shopping mall, airport, or public event, to voice an end to madness.