In Thoughts, Together: essay + part lecture, part talk (2023)
in thoughts, together: craft, tradition, cosmopolite life
part lecture, part talk together with dutch publisher freek lomme
MADE POSSIBLE BY IASPIS, HEMSLÖJDEN I SKÅNE, STADEN MALMÖS HEMSLÖJDSFÖRENING, FD/C
FORM/DESIGN CENTER
14 SEPTEMBER 2023
What does the collective remembrance of a local craft heritage look like? Do memories differ from family to family? Person to person? How does such a heritage inform the current self-image of a rural area?
My great-grandfather Lennart Pettersson was an artisan born at the turn of the last century, at time of the industrialisation and democratisation of Sweden.
Lennart learned and related to his craft out of necessity, as he belonged to a family of impoverished farmers. Making was not a choice. I was born in the same region, the Seven Districts, nearly a century later. Growing up, I was predominately culturally versed in a Western, heteronormative context with Swedish as my first language, despite my shared Swedish and North African heritage, and queer identity. I do not speak Arabic, yet my own name originates from it.
The inherent sense of in-betweenship created by these multiple points of view; being unable to speak Arabic whilst adhering to Euro-centric cultural norms, often led to friction within myself, in not being perceived to belong, or adhere, to one cultural context. The longing for acceptance and togetherness continues to make itself known, particularly through my inability to speak the language from which my name originates. Arabic is a familiar, intimate, yet foreign tongue. Its absence has left an innate longing to be able to communicate my existence to the outside world (within this kaleidoscope of identities) and led me to seek outlets which would allow for self-expression beyond the spoken.
I have realised that achieving an unambiguous understanding across different cultures requires the correct method of communication. I believe that craft can speak.
The practical skill of a maker can be read or heard by others without the need for words—through material and technique—the visual communication of thoughts or the evocation of specific emotions can be created through the crafted object itself.
Having lived in London for the past decade, I’m intrigued by how the language of craft, originating from the local realm, can influence our broader culture.
With In Thoughts, Together my ambition has been to focus on the collective rather than solely exploring my own ideas about my practice in relation to my great-grandfather’s. Through collaboration, I aimed to become an interpreter, observing and synthesising the conversations held with members of the Hedared Village Association to understand the basket as a community-bearing object.
Translating this research into woven outputs allowed me to discover theory: how writing can inform a making-based practice and vice versa, open up new perspectives and connect my own ethos with that of already established and globally relevant ideas on craft.
Nothing exists in a vacuum.
What resonates about a local craft heritage in global culture? Do the values of rural tradition hold significance in contemporary culture?
Are there parallels to be drawn or similarities to be found?
Photos by Molly Overstall Khan, Daniel Engvall