Somatic Tapestry
Commission by Southbank Centre touring exhibit, Art By Post, curated by Persilia Caton. Southbank Centre, London, Leicester Gallery De Montfort University, Leicester. 2021. Ink on textile. 3m x 8m.
Zoe Kreye’s practice often explores embodiment, transformation and collective experience. Entering this project as a participant would, Kreye followed the activities from Booklet 6, Home Is Where the Art Is, a collaboration between Cherelle Sappleton and Barbara Clarke that aims to cultivate creativity in the home – from carving out a spot for a home studio to choosing music that lights your fire when you move to it. In response to Clarke’s description of the importance of the front room for the Windrush generation, and generations to follow, Kreye researched domestic textiles from countries that most commonly migrate to the UK. Kreye’s new textile piece is inspired by colours and patterns of the home. Letting her body lead the process, her large-scale line drawings are made in response to bodily and emotional sensations. Her mark making is the basis for layering the plaid-like patterns and text. Kreye filtered and brought together a selection of participants’ poems, uniting them to create a third narrative between herself and the people who wrote them. Together, the colours, forms and text are emblematic of collective moments where we make time to be in our bodies and acknowledge what we find there.
Commissioned by the curator Persilia Caton I was asked to respond, & recontextualised the works in the exhibition Art by Post: Of Home and Hope, which ultimately celebrates artists and their ability to inspire. Art by Post: Of Home and Hope— shares the outcome, a collection of over 600 drawings submitted by the public, of the Southbank Centre’s Covid-19 response project that celebrates the positive impact art and creativity has on people’s health and wellbeing. Among the commissioned artists Zoe Kreye and Marusa Sagadin, Joey Yu, Paloma Proudfoot and Sofia Niazi create a container to hold the publics art by post. The artwork make reference to participating artists: text quotations by Graham White appear in the artwork, as well as patterns inspired by the collaboration between Charelle Sappleton and Barbara Clarke.
Photo credit Thierry Bal