Gallery ROM, 1.November 2016
Curators: Eva Bakkeslett and Ola Sendstad
Producer: Henrik der Minassian, Galleri ROM
STOPP: About darning and about time and ware, and about repairing the word that got lost.
As part of Gallery ROM’s exhibition POTENTIAL, artist Kari Steihaug held a unique workshop about reviving the dying art of darning holes in wool garments. The Norwegian word for darning is to stopp, so the word has a double meaning – to darn and to stop – to reassess, reclaim, remember and revive.
Kari likes repairing to make the holes more visible, like jewellery made with lovely colours and perhaps darned with a golden thread. The act of mending and the story behind the holes become lifted and visible and the garments are once again in one peace but perhaps more beautiful than before.
The workshop at gallery ROM was the first in a series of STOPP workshops where Kari reclaims the lost art of darning. Reuse and recycling are central elements but Kari also poses important questions about time and stories. Where has the time gone to repair our broken clothes? What are the stories behind the holes and how can these become the subject of conversations? How can we create spaces to darn socks and at the same time stop and dwell on time and wear? Does our ability to darn our socks also have a connection with sustainability and climate change?
The artist Kari Steihaug works with installations and found objects. Time and mortality, history and crafts are central themes. She adds and subtracts and explores moments and memories, the collective and private, the intimate and monumental.
