When everything is in tatters, we can try to repair what is broken. Often, we have broken things that can not be returned to their original state. We have to change the things themselves. Form new things. The results can be messy and unbecoming or they can be beautiful. I choose to take the thing and try to mend it. My efforts are irregular. Imperfect. Faulty. The result is novel. Strange. More interesting than where the thing began.
A light denim cotton H&M shirt of marginal quality became imbued with meaning through its use: worn first as a comfortable shirt after a new baby arrived, then as protection from Texas brush when working outside, next as a painting smock through a year of international covid relocation. It was finally taken into the field as protection against the Great American Desert sun. It has been a blanket, a shade, and a pillow. A brush cleaner, and protector of geodes from hammer blows. It deserves attention and love for what it has given of itself. It is not just an object. It is a precious garment, rent from heavy usage.
The hand repair takes hours and care. I use good cotton yarn and fabric to back it. The thread colors nod to the paint stains long soaked in and the indigo dye of the aged denim. The torn edges are stitched to prevent further fraying, and the backing is secured around the holes. The pattern of the stitching reflects their shapes. Another layer of stitching will be added to support and strengthen the weakened fabric, worn long past its densely woven prime.
Thank you to Emma Fukuwatari Huffman at Mediamatic for her wonderful workshop on Boro-stitching and the art of mending.