T-shirt, found object, 30x21cm, 2018
Sheet, found object, 30x21cm, 2018
Pillowcase, found object, 30x21cm, 2018
Child’s Dress, found object, 30x21cm, 2018
T-shirt (2), found object, 30x21cm, 2018
These discarded rags were collected from a print studio, where they were used to clean up excess ink after lino printing. Traces of this process can be seen on the rags as blotches of fading colour. Upon closer inspection the rags begin to tell a story of their previous life before they became pieces of discarded fabric set for waste. Seams and labels can be made out - parts of a man’s shirt or a child’s dress, a segment of a pillowcase or a cut-out from a jumper. These pieces not only hold traces of ink but also traces of someone’s life - the clothes they wore or the beds they slept on, amongst other stories. By photographing the rags, they become objects in their own right and the narrative of the material can be discovered.
The rags above are part of a series of images of 150 rags, and were woven into a weave, as pictured to the left.
Weave, rags, 0.5x1m, 2018