Narrative Threads
Elbé Coetsee
I thread my needle with yarn that spans the length and breadth of time and space
and invite you to join in the dialogue of humanity, fragility and healing.
I stitch and contemplate the beautiful nature of life; the flight of time; the fragmentation of tradition and cultures; the frailty of peace.
With each stitch, I thread my thoughts and emotions, as I recognise my privilege and my plight in my own life. I acknowledge and honour the plight of the aged and the children, the displaced, the disenfranchised and despairing...
I stitch for those who are suffering injustice, neglect and pain;
I sew threads for those subjected to maltreatment, hunger and humiliation;
I knot for those living with the horrors of wars, both on-going or past;
I knit for lives bonded in human trafficking, slavery or lost in untimely death.
The materials, textures, techniques are reparative notions and include copper wires found in most technological innovations and communications. It is also used to create destructive bombs, threatening in times of peace or employed in wars to kill and s[e]w destruction.
Sew together with us, yarns that connect friends in chit-chat; threads that thread a dialogue between adversaries, or weave a rapport between clans, tribes and nations alike.
May the works inspire viewers to talk and care, create and repair.
"The needle is used to repair damage. It's a claim to forgiveness".
- Louise Bourgeois
Elbé Coetsee
2024