Dunnet artist's TEXTile garments inspired by wartime tablecloth and the coronavirus
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A CAITHNESS artist is creating two unique garments which have been inspired by the coronavirus and a wartime tablecloth which became a poignant memento of servicemen in World War II.
Joanne B. Kaar, who is one of the Lyth Arts Centre artists in residence, is to hand stitch the names of carers from across the county onto a care-worker's uniform. A second garment will feature the names of anyone in Caithness community who has felt increasingly isolated throughout the pandemic. The items will feature in her new TEXTiles project.
Joanne, who comes from Dunnet, was inspired to create the work by the Custer Tablecloth, which was the subject of a story in the Caithness Courier last month. The tablecloth was created in the 1940s by Isobel Custer and features the signatures of 125 RAF personnel who were based at Thurdistoft airfield near Castletown during the Second World War. Donated by the Custer family, it is now part of the Castletown Heritage Society collection at Castlehill and can also be seen in a Highland Objects project – a series of short podcasts which focuses on an object of cultural or historical significance.
Joanne wants care workers, and people who have felt isolated to send her their names so she can stitch them on to the garments. She is particularly keen to hear from older people and elders in the community who would like their experience to be acknowledged and remembered.
She said: "TEXTiles connect people with place and time. They are literally the fabric of our lives; from the blankets that cover new born babies to the clothing we wear for work or special occasions, the soft furnishings we choose as home makers and specialist TEXTiles such as feed sacks, bailer twine and fishing nets to the 'bags for life' we use for carrying groceries home and the masks we now wear.”
The new TEXTiles, once finished will be donated to Castletown Heritage Society.
People can submit their own names, or the names of friends, family and colleagues using a simple online form at http://www.lytharts.org.uk/textiles-call-out/. Alternatively names can be emailed to
info@lytharts.org.uk or posted to Lyth Arts Centre, Lyth, Wick, KW1 4UD.
The work is part of Joanne’s artist-in-residence project Fabric of Life which she is undertaking in collaboration with those who care for older people, including professional care providers, volunteers and relatives, to develop an intergenerational project that connects older people with their wider community in "a meaningful and sensitive way."
Joanne is an experienced, research-based visual artist who often uses traditional craft techniques. She lives on Dunnet Head, only two miles from where she grew up in Brough. She has a BA Hons degree from Grays School of Art, Aberdeen and a Master of Arts from Manchester Metropolitan University.
