Understanding Textilis: a monument to making

I was having a good day with a trip out and a good book to read.

As a child of the pottery industry in Stoke-on-Trent who now finds herself making art in Sunderland, Less by Patrick Grant really resonated with me. He talks about our need for less, of respect for materials and quality in a throwaway culture, and of the reintroduction of meaningful work and dignity in post-industrial communities through making.

Reusing discarded materials was very much on my mind that day. I was on my way to a fabulous local charity, Borderline Books, which collects books no longer needed by publishers, shops, libraries and individuals and redistributes them to schools, prisons, community organisations, food banks, hospitals…and artists. Child in a sweet shop doesn’t begin to describe it. I came away with a trolley full of preloved and damaged children’s books, maps and romance novels ready to be transformed into…something. I didn’t know quite what.

I had a thought-provoking book, a bag of potential art materials, and there was a hint of sun in the sky. Not a bad start to the weekend. It was Friday 2 August 2024.

Later that night, I could smell burning. An advancing cloud of smoke was menacing my house. The nearby police station and local advice centre were on fire. Sunderland was the first torch lit in a relay of riots and unrest across the country.

The morning after, and a different version of Sunderland presented itself. People came out to clean up broken glass and to make a point, that the noise and destruction of the night before were #NotMySunderland.

I sat quietly among my books until I found my words.

I gathered volumes that had been passed on to me by kind friends, colleagues and organisations. I tore those books apart. I cut the pages. I broke the words into pieces. Then I folded. I folded page after page after page. Each piece was interwoven with the next, held in place by its neighbours, and then stitched to strengthen the connections. All the while I was mourning Sunderland’s lost industrial past, the disillusionment of the present day, and what might come next.

What emerged was Textilis.

Textilis is my hope for the future, building on the foundations and traditions we already have: for a modern community of makers, skilled of hand, generous of spirit, and with gentle pride in their work and home. It takes its name from the Latin word for woven or intertwined and is inspired in form by the communal quilting traditions of the North East. Rooted in the generosity of all those who donated the books from which it is made, Textilis is a fragile but hopeful monument to Wearside. We are makers here, we make.