WORN and the Patching of Holes
Noveber 19, 2023
The workshop talk was dedicated to the groundbreaking book "Worn" by Sofi Thanhauser and
why sewing and preserving clothes is a political act.
The workshop talk focused on the diverse innovations in textile production, why their history is largely unknown, and what can be done about it. Thanhauser does a remarkable job of telling the story of our clothing and reinterpreting its implications. The workshop talk explored these insights and offered a fresh perspective on groundbreaking inventions involving fibers and textiles.
Women have been central figures in the history of textile production since the very beginning. The workshop talk also examined how commercialization and trade have led to the devaluation of these achievements and obscured their artistic and social significance.
You can read more about Word and my research here.
There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.
Leonhard Cohen
It is impossible to make clothing without a human touch.
Sofi Thanhauser
Our clothes tell stories about us and our search for human warmth and a sense of belonging.
Sofi Thanhauser
Making clothing is one of humanity’s oldest cultural practices. A great deal of experience and resources go into a single piece of fabric. Repairing clothes and reusing fabrics were part of daily life well into the middle of the last century.
When we pick up the clothes we’ve grown to love and want to preserve them, we claim the right to create something with our hands—something that is both meaningful and personal. With a form of self-care as our starting point, we nurture and preserve what we like to call our “second skin.”
From a historical perspective on making, we find in visible mending—or darning, patching, and embroidery in general—craft methods that, while situated at the end of the creative chain, reflect with equal effectiveness the process that led to the creation of these fabrics and garments.