Hanging By A Thread. The Illusion of Permanence

Hanging By A Thread: The Illusion of Permanence is a textile-based exhibit bringing together three separate, but linked, bodies of work, which examine and comment on the fragility of our environment, the ever increasing loss of species, the sustainability of accelerating technologies, our lack of connection to the past and to the land. Some pieces look to the past to decipher the present and interpret the future. Some incorporate morse code into their construction. All engage the heart and the mind of the viewer. This rich and multifaceted exhibit speaks to themes of regional ecology, political inaction and social unease, which are particularly pertinent in these times.

The Chorus consists of a series of 10 weavings, each containing a different morse code message. These create an abstracted Analytical Engine programmed to transform the past into the present and to translate the future into cryptic Cassandrian prophesies. When displayed they hang down like banners, or scrolls, pooling onto plinths, resembling sunlight streaming through stained glass windows. They are a visual representation of the Chorus in a Greek tragedy, providing a repetitious running commentary on the fate of our endangered species and, ultimately, on ourselves. The messages I have woven in this series are fragments from poems and could be the last words our endangered species silently scream before they disappear forever. All comment on the transitory nature of life along with its fragility and beauty. These are the prophesies. The pieces have been woven using a traditional summer and winter weave, which is binary in nature and perfect for creating morse code. It also echoes the binary nature of computer programming and references the Jaquard loom, which was the inspiration for Charles Babbidge’s Analytical Engine, considered to be the first computer. The warp and weft theads have all been hand dyed with natural dyes.

The Chorus provides a way of processing possible futures. By translating morse code from sound to visual representation it allows us to see what we cannot hear.

What Once Was. The Apocalypse Is Now consists of pieces fashioned after a vintage woman’s shift, all of which comment on the global destruction of species and habitats in our rush to harvest the remaining natural resources, whatever the cost. Most of the pieces resemble garments that have been recently unearthed from a future archaeological dig. They have been dyed and overdyed in vats of iron, tannins and indigo and are adorned with organic found objects which could be remnants of a life once lived; driftwood, stones, bones, snake skins, feathers, leaves, hooves. Other pieces are constructed from bubble wrap and adorned with abandoned non-biodegradable manufactured items designed to survive the apocalypse. These allude to the Doomsday Clock, which warns the public about how close we are to destroying our world with dangerous technologies of our own making.

Still Fighting is a series of “war belts” each containing an entire morse code poem and each dedicated to a mythical, historical or contemporary woman. These were inspired by paleolithic string skirts and Incan quipus (a form of proto writing) and are comprised of hand dyed threads hanging from a hand woven strap. Each thread represents one letter in the poem. Small and large knots in the threads represent the dots and dashes of morse code. An underlying theme to these works is that of the mutability of history; how the interpretation of historical events reflects the biases of the historian. One decade’s heroine can be another decade’s terrorist and vice versa. Although the names of these women may be familiar, the scope of their achievements is slipping away as they enter obscurity. The war belts resemble skirts and suggest the protection such a garment provides. However, the knotted thread poems constrain and restrict, echoing the difficulties these women faced, fought and overcame.

This is a very dynamic exhibit and encourages visitors to weave through the gallery on a voyage of discovery. Ten long weavings hang on the gallery walls and pool onto plinths that extend out into the gallery. Twenty three-dimensional shifts can either be suspended from the ceiling or be displayed on stands. Ten war belts hang on the gallery walls.

Here is a link to a short video Gibsone Public Art Gallery made of Hanging By A Thread when it was installed there in May of 2024:

Joanna Rogers. Hanging By A Thread. The Illusion of Permanence