The Red Dress Conversations In Stitch
Kirstie Maclead and voices from the embroidery project
Quickthorn
What is the red dress about?
This is a project, directed and brought into fruition by Kirstie Maclead, which offered a vocal visual pathway for women to be able to speak their truth through embroidery.
The project involved the cross land pulling of fifty one countries and three hundred embroiderers, all with one fabric - the red dress itself.
It's’ cultural, social, narrative importance
In our day, we see racial blocks, barriers, laws, politics….division in so many ways we could never have made them up in a story. But imagine if the walls could become doors? That is what the red dress has achieved through the power of an ongoing thread line.
How has the book been divided?
The book is not a usual textile art book, this is both educational as well as of interest to those with a knowledge of embroidery. It has depth to it - this is not stitch for a light frivolous hobby based reason - this is stitching for a life narrative.
The book has been divided into chapters, a selection on the embroiderers’ themselves and another on essay based work - looking at key areas within the embroidery field, its connection, how the community can become a part of it, how it can heal….
Going back to The Embroiderers’ section, chapters are driven towards places where women may be under appreciated or in poverty. They may feel trapped, without an ability to speak for themselves - this book has allowed them to shout.
What I personally found appealing..
It takes the love of an artist, to bring a project like this together. She has skill, she has the ability, she could have used this for her own good, to levitate her own name - yet she instead generously has shared this with so many, so that they too can have a hello to the world and feel a part of the bigger picture - a part of something with meaning and manner.
Near the back of this title, their are ‘Gratitudes’, from the author herself. In her words, her goal was ‘to bring people together at a time when things felt so difficult and separated’. As she has realised herself - her vision has ‘come true’.
This book is not just to be housed on the ‘arts’ shelf - this is history in the making - our history.