Embroidered, Handkerchiefs, Quilts & Coffee

Various works -

Coffee Quilt

Inspired by time spent working in America, where Susan became aware of the strong quilting traditions. Quilting historically creates connections between women and, in her own case, her connection with her quilt-making grandmother. Quilting and recycling go hand in hand; it is a metaphor for upcycling, for stitching together and bonding of lives, and for sewing as a therapeutic, reflective process. Susan became fascinated by the vast range of paper products available in the US. For Coffee Quilt, Susan chose to stain the standard waxed portion cups with coffee, alluding to the effects of consumerism, fashion, and colonial trade. 

Coffee-stained portion cups, cotton thread, 197 x 127 x 7 cm.

Pound of Flesh (Venice), Tributary (Stratford), Bear Pit  (London) -Embroidered individual handkerchiefs 

To Die Upon A Kiss - Quilt, made from handkerchiefs, coffee, embroidery thread. The handkerchiefs were inherited from a relative, and the work was inspired by Othello, where a handkerchief plays a central part in the story plot.  To die upon a kiss are Othello's last lines as he is dying, having committed suicide. This work subverts everyday household objects. Using embroidery and delicate fabrics, Stockwell highlights both femininity and the heirloom, private and family intimacy, things often taken for granted until lost. 

These works were made while Stockwell was on a year-long residency with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon and were first shown there in the gallery & theatre Atrium spaces in the exhibition SEA-MARKINGS 2015.

Finesilver-Blackgold is a digital print made from layered components. A ledger card found in a disused garment factory in San Antonio, Texas and a famous image of a slave ship storage plan.

The seductive fine crepe silk and rich frame lures the viewer in, where upon closer inspections they find a shockingly horrific image of humans shackled to be brought and sold, traded as goods. The use of rich materials is purposeful in its comment upon the trades that we pursue for wealth and power. Although this is a historic image, it reminds us of contemporary imperial trades.

Exhibitions:

Frieze Masters  London 2022 (Patrick Heide Contemporary Art)

SEA-MARKINGS 2015, alongside the installation Sail Painting and a version of Sail Away. 

Sweet Plums Patrick Heide Contemporary Art, London (2015).

Across Boundaries at the Draiflessen Collection, Germany 2018-2019

The Biggest Draw, Sheffield Millennium Galleries, 2004

Mapping the Imagination Victoria and Albert Museum 2003

Susan Stockwell Selected Work solo exhibition, Victoria & Albert  Museum (V&A), London 2001

Collections:

Pattern of the World is held in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London