Flotsam and JetsamElise Cakebread, 2023
Found materials: wool, silk, cotton, viscose, linen, polyester, bamboo and lurex with cotton thread
Flotsam and Jetsam are the seafaring terms for debris and ‘cast-off’ items that wash up in the ocean with a contemporary meaning that is a catch-all term for the detritus of life, the disppossesed both physically and metaphorically. My work is primarily concerned with these themes. I use cast off and disused textiles as an embodiment of this. The works are pieced together from waste textiles that through their nature are embedded with personal, historical and social meanings.
The two works have each been created strand by strand from production waste, dowry linens, silk tourism scarves, antique kimonos, baby clothes from when my daughters were infants, muslin cloths, sewing off-cuts, paisley shirts from my husband’s youth, fast fashion dresses, tulle dance costumes, hand-embroidered table cloths, worn out Manchester, old jumpers and French lace.
The two works are a site-specific special commission for the Capella Hotel Sydney.
Photography by Michael Quinlan.