Anatomy of a Quilt
SUNNY BANK MILLS | 2024
Work Andi Walker · Photography Jonathan Turner · Photography of work at Tangled Up Artist’s Own
In this work, you are invited to wander through the exposed layers of the quilt, where seams and methods of construction are made visible, allowing you to view the usually hidden patterns and rhythms of construction, which have their own inherent beauty.
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From the clean-seamed rhythms of the front, to the usually concealed raw edges of the reverse normally hidden within the construction. There is beauty to be found in the threads, the construction, and the fragments of something ordinarily whole. This quilt, stripped of its function, becomes a tool to reflect on experience and resilience. The visibility of its construction serves as a poignant reminder of the vulnerability inherent in exposing one's innermost struggles.
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The back of the quilt, made by incorporating an element of chance through the use of a dice for pattern and size and colour selection, adds a layer of unpredictability to the creative process, relinquishing the need for choice to fate. The pieces were ripped rather than cut and measured, which throws in a further dynamic.
This randomness mirrors the unpredictable nature of my mental health at the time, where every day presents new obstacles to overcome. Yet, amidst the chaos and obsessive cutting and stitching, I distilled a sense of order and purpose in the act of its creation.
Deconstructing Vulnerability & Resilience
Noun: ice/: solid: melt-ing:/ transient: fragile:/ ephemeral trans-formative /:
The application of ice/: chaos within a controlled environment
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In my work, I embrace the transient and uncontrollable nature of ice. It is both medium and metaphor—cold, hard, fragile, and fleeting. Each piece I create involves a deliberate yet unpredictable process, where ice, as it melts, transforms the materials around it. The dye begins to bleed and seep, activated by the thaw, forming new shapes and patterns that are beyond my control becomes a tool to reflect on experience and resilience. The visibility of its construction serves as a poignant reminder of the vulnerability inherent in exposing one's innermost struggles.
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This method introduces an element of chaos within a controlled environment. Despite using the same materials and following a consistent process, no two pieces are ever identical. Ice, with its inevitable melting, acts as both creator and destroyer, symbolizing impermanence and the fragile nature of time. My work lives in this intersection—between creation and dissolution, between control and surrender. Through this process, I explore the fleeting beauty of change, inviting viewers to reflect on the impermanence that shapes both art and life.
