Together or Nothing, 2020, Acrylic colours on quilted recycled fabrics, 450 x 175 cm
Together or Nothing
Together or Nothing reflects on my experience of participating in Beyond Quilting, a cross-cultural initiative uniting three Dutch designers, three Indian designers, and the Quiltculture women’s collective in Pune, India. The project began as an aesthetic exchange but soon evolved into critical conversations about the systemic undervaluation of artisans within global capitalist structures. I explored models for equitable, cross-cultural collaboration within contemporary visual and material practices. The work asks: How can such collaborations proceed without reproducing hierarchies? How do I position myself within craft–art collaborations? Using the gesture of the handshake, I examine how orientation—who reaches, who receives—can shift the narrative. The handshake signifies both agreement and support, tension and trust. Together or Nothing functions as both documentation and reflection, presenting collaboration as an act of mutual recognition that acknowledges difference without erasure.
Together or Nothing reflects on my experience of participating in Beyond Quilting, a cross-cultural initiative uniting three Dutch designers, three Indian designers, and the Quiltculture women’s collective in Pune, India. The project began as an aesthetic exchange but soon evolved into critical conversations about the systemic undervaluation of artisans within global capitalist structures. I explored models for equitable, cross-cultural collaboration within contemporary visual and material practices. The work asks: How can such collaborations proceed without reproducing hierarchies? How do I position myself within craft–art collaborations? Using the gesture of the handshake, I examine how orientation—who reaches, who receives—can shift the narrative. The handshake signifies both agreement and support, tension and trust. Together or Nothing functions as both documentation and reflection, presenting collaboration as an act of mutual recognition that acknowledges difference without erasure.
Together or Nothing (Details), 2020 Acrylic colours, silk threads on quilted recycled fabrics, 90 x 100 cm
