In anticipation of my upcoming exhibition at the Barbican Library (scroll down for details) I have finished documenting my Exile Textile series. Amen.
Exile Textile II: The New Normal 2020 - 21. 100 x 87cm. Hand stitched fabric scraps.
As well as a personal diary, ‘Exile Textile II: The New Normal’ also documents events in the wider world at the time of the Lockdowns. It is made from materials found around my parents’ house, as I nursed my mother in the final year of her life.
It’s called ‘The New Normal’, in that that’s what people were saying about the current world situation. But also, a ‘new normal’ for me, in that my mam died during the making of this piece. And ‘Exile Textile II’, in that I made some art from textiles whilst exiled at my parents’ house, and this is the second one. You can see the first one here, and the third one here.
My Exile Textiles wouldn’t have been made if it hadn’t been for Mam’s cancer. I went Up North to nurse her in February 2020, and got locked in. Stitching these little bits and bobs kept me sane. The logistics of stitching newspaper (my usual practice) proved impossible, whereas carrying around an old duster and a needle, much easier.
The whole thing is backed with a sheet from Mam’s bed. We had to tear it off when she vomited, as we couldn’t remove it from beneath her.
Below is an explanation of the different sections.
GET OUTTA MY PUB/CAPITOL is a nod to the death, on 10th December 2020, of Barbara Windsor. It became her catchphrase on Eastenders. I once accidentally saw her herding sheep on London Bridge. Also, once, in the late eighties, when I briefly worked for a theatrical costumier’s, I spoke to her on the phone. One more thing, there are two ladies in my home town who went to school with her. They were evacuated during the war. Dad likes to chat to them but he hasn’t seen them for ages. About four weeks after Babs’ death, Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol Building in Washington DC. They were attempting to overturn his defeat in the 2020 USA presidential election. On 7th November 2020, Trump tweeted I WON THIS ELECTION BY A LOT.
ZOOM, the video thing, was new (to most people, anyway) in 2020.
PEACE MAKER is my mam, 1944 - 2021.
COVIDIOTS were new, too. According to the Urban Dictionary, ‘Someone who ignores warnings regarding public health and safety. A person who hoards goods, denying them for their neighbours.’
‘TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY CAREFUL was a hypocritical soundbite from the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.
CRONYISM ‘The appointment of friends and associates to positions of authority, without proper regard to their qualifications’. Oxford English Dictionary. Always rampant amongst those at ‘the top’, but here referring in particular to the PPE contracts scandal, which according to the Government’s website cost the British taxpayer £1.4 billion.
VIENNA On 2nd November 2020, a few hours before Vienna was to enter lockdown, 4 people were killed and 23 injured in a gun attack.
HAND OF GOD refers to the death of Diego Maradona, who died on 25th November 2020, whilst commenting on the wider Covid situation and the frequent comparisons to biblical plagues.
LOCKDOWN 2.0/3 the second (5/11/2020) and third (4/1/21) UK lockdowns during the Pandemic.
FREE CUTHBERT was a Twitter hashtag. On 16th April 2021, Marks & Spencer launched legal action against Aldi’s Cuthbert Caterpillar cake, on account of it being very similar to their very own, and totally delicious (although not as delicious as it used to be), Colin. Twitter went hilariously berserk.
DES O’CONNOR, 1932 - 2020. The comedian, singer (36 albums and 4 top ten singles), television presenter and the butt of Eric and Ernie’s jokes (which he took admirably, and apparently helped to write) died on 14th November. According to Wikipedia he was the son of a cleaner and a dustman.
BIDEN HARRIS On 11th August 2020, Kamala Harris was chosen by Joe Biden to be his running mate in the 2020 presidential election. NEVER-ENDING SHADE is a line from the poem, ‘The Hill We Climb’, written and recited by Amanda Gorman at the Biden inauguration on 20th January, 2021.
YOU HAVE NO AUTHORITY HERE JACKIE WEAVER Said by Brian Tolver at a Handforth Parish Council Zoom meeting on 10th December, 2020. The meeting went viral, catapulting Jackie to UK Twitter fame. She opened the Brits, ALW wrote a song about her, and I stitched her. This also gave me a name for my Substack - Alison Aye Has No Authority. READ IT AND UNDERSTAND IT was also said at the aforementioned meeting.
ROAD MAP In March 2021, ‘the people of England saw restrictions start to lift and the Government’s four-step roadmap offered a route back to normal life.’ UK Government Website.
RASHFORD, SANCHO, SAKA The reference to Rashford is twofold. On 15th June 2020, Marcus Rashford wrote an open letter to the government asking to overturn the decision not to extend the food voucher scheme for vulnerable children during the school summer holidays.
During the Euros Final (that’s the football, not the money) in July 2021, Rashford, Sancho and Saka received horrendous racial abuse when they missed penalties. ITA 3, ENG 2. Estimated global audience of 328 million.
ROSA, SARA, FRIMID, ABRAM, MARTIN, SHEINDEL, GITTA, MOSHE, HERMAN AND LESLIE KLEINMAN On 28th January 2021, I read a newspaper article in which Leslie Kleinman asks that his family, who were killed by the nazis, should be remembered. He died on 30th June, 2021. Leslie’s family were taken to Auschwitz when he was 14. They were all murdered except Leslie and his sister Gitta. Not that he knew she had survived. She died shortly after liberation. After the war, Leslie came to the UK. ‘I married, built a family and created a new life. My children should have had grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins’.
SQUEEZE THE DISEASE On 23rd November 2020, Boris Johnson told us to, ‘Get a test to help squeeze the disease and reduce the restrictions that your town or city has endured.’
WALK ON THROUGH THE WIND, WALK ON THROUGH THE RAIN lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein from You’ll Never Walk Alone. I stitched them, whilst trying to navigate my own storm in 2020. They were intended for my first Exile Textile, but they wouldn’t fit. My husband and son are lifelong Liverpool FC supporters.
MUTE Being a moron, I never bought anything pink for my daughter. My mother regularly made up for that. She bought this dress in 2006 in a shop in Spenny called Mackays. In my day the Mackays’ building was Doggarts, a fantastic department store that was a treat to visit. I can see the toy department in my mind’s eye right now, with money darting overhead in those tube thingies. Mute was often used at the time, regarding stopping unwanted noise during a video-meeting. It has dual meaning here, though, as I revert to being ‘mute’ when I am in my childhood home.
PRINCESS NUT NUTS (or Nut Nut depending on who is telling the story) is a nickname Dominic Cummings (now-sacked-but-then-prime-minister’s-senior-aid) used for Carrie Symonds (prime-minister’s-24-years-younger-mistress-wife) and PRINCESS LATIFA is the daughter of the ruler of Dubai. In 2020 she was abducted by her father, after she fled in 2018. Her story is currently being turned into a TV drama called The Escape. Lindsay Shapero is writing the script.
LONG COVID is a chronic illness that can develop or persist after a COVID-19 infection.
A BAREFACED LIAR PROMOTED TO OUR HIGHEST OFFICE A quote from the much anticipated sixth series of Line of Duty. On 2nd May 2021, 56% of the UK’s television audience watched the final episode. The words were said by Superintendent Ted Hastings, played by Adrian Dunbar. I can’t be certain, but I think that Jed Mercurio was directing these words straight at Boris Johnson. That’s where I’m pointing my stitched version, anyway.
THE NEW NORMAL (broken heart under) that’s what people were saying about the then-current world situation. But also, a new normal for me, in that my mam died during the making of this piece.
Materials
Dad’s handkerchiefs: Background and letters for Get Outta My Pub; Zoom; ITA 3 ENG 2; Jackie Weaver.
Dad’s white shirt: Capitol; the Kleinmans; Jackie Weaver; You’ll Never Walk Alone; title and signature; Rashford, Sancho and Saka.
Red/green fabric from Mam’s Christmas Craft Fair stash: Capitol; ‘Tis the season; lockdowns; Hand of God; You’ll Never Walk Alone; Mam.
My sister’s black Dorothy Perkins’ trousers: Road Map; Free Cuthbert; the Kleinmans; Never Ending Shade.
Mam’s dusters: Free Cuthbert; Barefaced Liar; Lockdowns; ‘Tis the season.
My unintentionally sexy salmon blouse: I won this election; Princesses, Barefaced Liar; Covidiots.
Once red (now orange) sheet: Barefaced Liar.
Mr S’s orange boxers bought at Charing Cross Next on Christmas Eve c1990: Barefaced Liar
Mr S’s shirts: Vienna; Des; I won this election; Zoom; Lockdown; Ita 3 Eng 2.
Apron: Des; Princess Nut Nuts.
My old blue dress: Latifa; Get outta my pub.
Giles’ NPG Uniform: the red bit in Biden.
Off-cut from some blinds I once made: BIDEN HARRIS.
My Old Denim Dress: Cronyism; Road Map.
My daughter’s dress: Road Map, read it and understand it.
Mam’s nightie, cut from her because we couldn’t get it over her head: Mam, peacemaker, 1944 - 2021.
Del’s old shirts: Background for Biden/Harris; Long Covid; Never-Ending Shade; covidiots.
My NPG uniform: Hand of God.
My daughter’s floral pink dress: Hand of God.
My daughter’s pink and orange dress: Mute.
Green satin from Cathy: ‘tis the season; mute.
Old sheet we had to rip off Mam’s bed: backing.
My sister’s black tote bag: Road Map.
Purple Seersucker, an old skirt I made myself (fabric bought from Rolls and Rems in Lewisham) for my first and last trip to Florence in 1997: Rashford, Sancho, Saka.
Stitched using Mam’s thread; Judith (mother of Nick) Cash’s thread, who died a few weeks after my mam; and some vintage Sylko, a birthday present from my friend Cathy.
Civilisation. Barbican Library, London EC2. 1st - 28th August. Mon, Wed, Fri 9.30-5.30; Tues + Thurs 9.30-7.30; Sat 9.30-4. Check for time changes on library website. I am aiming to be there Mondays and Saturdays. Private View: Mon 4th Aug, 6-8.25pm. No booking required. All of my Exile Textiles are in private collections. I have ordered three (one of each) huge A0 prints (from Klein in Manchester) to exhibit. I will be selling them at cost price (because they are display copies and I will be happy to break-even) to any visitor who wants to buy. If you want a pristine copy, with a reasonable mark-up, see my print shop.
Also, you can currently see The Audience 2025 at Tension Gallery, 135 Maple Road, London SE20. I’ll be part of a ‘Talk’ at 2pm on Saturday 19th July. No booking required. Airing. Until 26th July. Fri and Sat, 11am - 5pm. Closing at 4pm on the final day. The Audience 2024 is for sale here.
