┐ Sabrina Gschwandtner └

© Sabrina Gschwandtner, Hula Hoop, 16 mm film, polyamide thread, 2010.

Watch & See exhibition, Gustavsbergs Konsthall, Sweden, 2009.

© Sabrina Gschwandtner, Quilts in Women’s Lives (left) and What is a Dress (right), 16 mm film, polyamide thread, cotton thread, 2009

“My quilts utilize film footage from early Feminist documentaries. I re-work these narratives by sewing them into new configurations and adding in my own footage.

The source of the historical footage is the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), which recently de-accessioned the 16 mm films in their library. Anthology Film Archives took some of FIT’s films into their archives and gave the rest to artists who work with found footage. The short, educational documentaries I received are dated 1952 – 1982, and focus on textile crafts such as crocheting, knitting, sewing, fabric dyeing, and quilting.

After watching the movies, I cut them up and sew them together with my personal film footage. I bleach, dye, scratch, and paint some of the film.

The formal logic of my sewn designs are derived from popular American quilt motifs including log cabin squares, octagonal stars, and “string quilts,” wherein long, thin fabric scraps left over from other projects are cut and sewn together. The works are hung like curtains in the windows of exhibition spaces, or displayed on gallery walls via light boxes.”Sabrina’s statement

More of her work here

┐ Kurt Tong └

© Kurt Tong, Untitled, from the series People’s Park

© Kurt Tong, Untitled, from the series People’s Park

© Kurt Tong, Untitled, from the series People’s Park

“Last year I was helping my mother sort out all the family photographs. Apart from the customary family portraits in front of the same Christmas trees and behind birthday cakes, most of the photos taken of my brother, my sisters and me were during our day trips out at various parks.
I have just a few memories of these pictures being taken. However, I still have such vivid memories of all the parks we used to go to. The penguin bins, the bumper cars, the trains and the ice cream stalls are all so clear in my mind, little snippets of memories that make up my childhood. Sadly, nearly all of these parks have long since disappeared, forever living only as memories.
This project explores similar recreational spaces found in China. In 1958, at the beginning of “The Great Leap Forward”, when private ownership was banned, many existing parks were renovated and new parks were built all across China for the people. Many were renamed People’s Park. Over the years, they became main focal points of the cities, where families had their outings and couples met. Children’s amusement parks and zoos were often built within these parks to provide entertainment for the local kids.
China is changing at a staggering pace. The “economic miracle” means that the Chinese are enjoying a much more affluent lifestyle. Shopping and internet have replaced bumper cars and Ferris wheels. As China continues to “progress” and embrace capitalism; many of these parks, a fundamental part of Communist China, have become dilapidated. However, many workers are still employed by the government to maintain these parks, and they remain open for the people.
Millions of older Chinese have grown up with these parks and have memories of time spent in them. Just like the parks, it is quite likely that personal memories of the parks are slowly fading away with time. Like the family photos I have, the photographs in this series act as a record of memories that may soon disappear entirely.”

More of Kurt’s work here