a ceremony of stitches

is an hybrid between an installation and a ceremony where people are invited to join an abstract space and stitch words of a poem on white fabrics. Clay feets hold the wood structure where the fabrics are hanging. The space is meant to evoke a calm and meditative atmosphere. 

The participants are welcome to reconnect with the ancient craft of embroidering. 

Throughout history, embroidery has been a way of communicating through the visual language of different patterns and motifs. Each symbol is a testimony of where it was made or the person who embroidered it. Stitches tell many different stories; they keep them alive and able to be experienced by future generations. 

The installation is accompanied by a poem and a Neapolitan folk song (“Il canto delle lavandaie del Vomero”). Throughout the installation, either alone or in a choir, we sing or chant to the people while embroidering. 

Chanting and singing just like embroidery are ways of keeping stories alive, to touch people in their collective consciousness.

People are suddenly part of something happening in the moment, a gathering of beings, a gentle reminder of collective work and collaboration.