In 2010 I purchased a set of Pip Studio bedding for my new flat. The main/top print of the bedsheet had a beautiful, busy baby-blue and pink floral print and on the underside was a simple, red floral print on a crisp white background. I had never understood why, but I’d always preferred the simple white and floral underside of the sheets. I found them to be extremely comforting and would I would always place the sheets with this side facing upwards.

During my MA research I came across a photograph of myself as a very young baby (I was only a few weeks old and still in a cot!) I was fast asleep on a white cotton blanket which had a minimalistic red strawberry pattern printed on the lining material. It had a striking visual resemblance to the underrated side of the bed sheets which I had so loved!

I found it fascinating how this subliminal trigger and feeling of comfort had been evoked from memories of when I was lying in my cot just a few weeks old. These memories had become internalised and were now unexpectedly recalled to my mind as an adult.

As an artist who creates artworks inspired from subliminal thoughts and dreams, many of which translate into artworks depicting vintage toys and dolls, I wanted to understand other people’s attachments to memory objects and the stories behind these. I started examining the possibility of delivering an intergenerational project comprising different age groups coming together and sharing stories and precious memories, and subsequently combining them to form a large and visually powerful, sensory outcome. I’d always felt that patchworks were a very appropriate tool for amalgamating such energies, whilst upcycling fabrics which hold a wealth of stories and memories for project participants

I was fortunate enough to receive a grant from Action for Bow, enabling me to work with students at Old Ford Primary Academy (where I’m employed as the Room 13 Artist in Residence). I worked with year four students, a special needs provision class, extra-curricular clubs and the students’ parents/carers to create a series of fabric patches.

Sessions started with a drawing workshop delivered by myself, in which the children illustrated and shared a story about their favourite memory object This turned out to be a powerfully emotive session, in which almost every child in the entire year group (of ninety) raised their hand and shared a sometimes melancholic memory of their special toy, which had in many cases been gifted to them by someone who later died and so this represented their last connection to them; others had been gifted to participants by an important person in their life.

For subsequent workshops the participants brought in old fabrics from home and we worked with sustainable living organisation Sunny Jar Eco Hub to create resist/shibori patterns, dying using food waste consisting of avocado skins and stones, turmeric powder, tea, coffee, red cabbage and onion. For the final sessions students worked with myself and textile artist Russell Barrett to create a recycled fabric collage depicting their special objects on their natural dyed material from the second week…

A small group of parents and carers worked with embroidery artist Milou Stella and myself to stitch over cherished photos of their favourite memories and I worked with children in the school’s special needs provision class, allowing them to express themselves by mark-making onto fabric using turmeric and berries, after which I hand-embroidered their portraits and illustrations of their favourite things onto their work, in order for them to be represented.

Russell is currently in the process of completing the patchwork sewing (composed of 130 patches and is 2x3 metres in size).

For me, the most poignant experience drawn from this project was witnessing the power of anecdotal storytelling, and seeing how by allowing people of all ages to come together and be creative in a ‘safe space’ this created confidence. It also allowed individuals to express their vulnerabilities by sharing their experiences with a larger group. At the same time, it strongly bore out my research during my Master’s Degree in 2017, which explored the prospect of creating a ‘universal trigger for the inner-child’ in adults and led me to conclude that in general a certain degree of nostalgia and melancholy is often a requisite experience for a person to form an attachment or strong memory.