Connecting Threads
Tactile Social History
Lynn Setterington
Quickthorn Press
Textiles for practicality, for projects, for cold hearted technique. What is your understanding of what Textiles should and actually is - if we make it so? Setterington here by leads us through evidence to solidify that actually, Textiles matters. Rather than a icy device, Textiles can be your, my, our vice. It can take us by the hand to mend more than a moth eaten jumper - wellness for soul.
There are seven main sections, with deep messages as regards culture, social connections, health, loss….real life matters and directing these via the textile, which I guess could make them more palatable. We may find it hard to pick up a self care or ‘help’ title, maybe we are braver when it comes to one which comes under a different genre. This book is a collection, bringing together projects which have been achieved through 1981 - 2024. This artist certainly cannot be said to create art for arts sake, she has used her skills to support others, often working with the overlooked, maybe dare I say it, the unseen. For example, who would have thought to direct their attention to construction trade workers, as those who could connect within the creating mannerisms?
I know myself, from experience teaching, that environments alter the openness of the human soul. I meet new woman within every class I teach and yet they do not treat me as a stranger; suddenly I have the best friend pass - hearing hearts. How do I respond? Sometimes I too, get led along by the narrative I am hearing, experiencing their pain - I find it most difficult to ‘leave it at the table’ as it were. Yet in the cold light of the air, once class wraps up and we go our separate ways, I feel grateful, blessed to have been entrusted in this way. I can walk on, not with those stories - in the end, I am the lucky one.
Why I am diversifying? Coming back to this artist, I see this pattern within her role. She could have been selfish, just enjoying the fame which her talent provides. No, instead she works as the caregiver, the sustainer of souls. Only the ones’ she touches will be able to tell you the impact left, I can only project.
Some of us may volunteer, as a do-gooder, say at a Soup Kitchen or Food Bank. But what about the day when the bowl runs empty? It is a hole which needs constantly filled. No, Textiles is certainly not the cure all, but it can sustain and soothe, so I see Setterington’s work as just as important.
I will be honest, I could never do a good enough job reviewing this book as simply one on my current pile. It takes time, understanding, not a page turner, eaten in one sitting.
I will continue to let resonate and filter into my brain, however a few things…
The images illustrated are all yes, well shot, but more than that they showcase real life. Moments of matter over an embroidery technique detail.
Its beauty is its message, this is no light project based publication.
Textile matters? Yes, but life matters more and the marriage of the two makes her work so important.