Fabric of the City
Erin Clausen-McGee
What is left of your past when you have lost your most significant objects? When her few pieces of jewelry were stolen and pawned, my grandmother was deeply impacted by the loss. Knowing it was the only trace of her mother left, I began to consider the sentimental value those pieces held to her. This piqued my curiosity about heirlooms and what functions they serve for us.
Fabric of the City is an exploration of objects as memory, heirlooms, and textiles as a medium for graphic design.
This process served as an opportunity to listen to the personal accounts of strangers and friends via a collection of selected objects. Through surface patterns motifs, these belongings and accounts are shared. With some objects more visible and others more obscure, the quilt is accompanied by a website, revealing the full object and context. The website component of Fabric of the City features a submission section, which allows users to submit their favorite objects and share any personal history.
As many of our memories shift to a digital space, I begin to question the fate of family heirlooms.
The project addresses an admiration for crafts, trinkets, text in the wild, family memories, and heirlooms in the 21st century. I hope we will continue to share memories between generations and communities beyond the screen.