Jacqui Barrowcliffe

This installation developed from my residency at a former textile factory in Barcelona. Exploring the idea of the narratives and memories a piece of fabric can hold, whether it be through personal anecdotes connected to its use, or the very process of its creation, this work records the laborious process of “un-embroidering” an old tablecloth in an attempt to discover where such stories are held. Inspired by a sewing room created in the 1950s for the single female factory workers, the piece considers the close relationship between women and cloth throughout history. Through recording the process of undoing I wish to make visible work that has so often been overlooked and unrecognised, with the unstitching establishing a dialogue between me and the thread, and by extension, the hand that once sewed it; a dialogue between the present and the past. The stitches are removed yet the memory of them remains in the small holes they have left behind in the cloth, a record of their passing.

Artist Bio

Working across various disciplines, but mainly photography and installation, my work focuses on process and impermanence. Inspired by both the domestic and the natural I respond to my surroundings to develop a narrative that is both personal and universal. Often, my work starts with a found object or an everyday space that I gradually adopt as a metaphor to reflect on different themes that interest me such as mortality, loss, memories and connections. Ultimately, my work is about the acceptance of an endless cycle of transformation and an exploration of the traces such processes of change leave behind.