Yesterday, I read this article about the exhibit titled Disobedient Objects at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The exhibit includes an embroidery stitched by a member of Forces United for Our Disappeared in Nuevo León (fundenl), part of Bordando por la Paz.
As assemblage, the embroidery is simple in appearance, yet its sophisticated stitches and incorporation of everyday objects combine to convey a strong, emotional message. More about this later. Here's the article:
fundenl [Forces United for Our Disappeared in Nuevo León]:
Is there a war in Mexico? In December of 2012 [President Enrique Peña Nieto's swearing-in] the Mexican government began a communication strategy for making the War invisible. By so doing, the government denies the reality of Victims of at least eight years of bestialized violence. Victims who have suffered heinous crimes like The Disappearance of fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, husbands and wives.
In 2012 a valiant group of activists began to embroider the memory and pain of war: Embroidering for Peace was born. Embroidering for Peace has subsequently become the symbol of resistance against the war in many states of Mexico. A war we did not ask for.
The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England, has mounted an exhibit titled Disobedient Objects showing the powerful role of symbolic objects created by movements for social change in different countries, objects that show the creativity of collective political activism.
A bordado [embroidered man's handkerchief] from Embroidering for Peace was selected for inclusion in this exhibit.
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| Text (Upper Right): "Roy Rivera Hidalgo, 22 January 2011: I don't know what will become of you, how you might be, how they might treat you ... but I hope this kiss might arrive for you wherever you might be. Ricky" Text (Right): "You are in our memory and in our hearts, with total love, Letty" Text (Lower Left): "It's worth it to cry, but never give up. If we don't search for our children, no one else will. Letty" Photo: Jamie-Leigh Ruse |
This embroidery shouting of the struggle for the return of Roy Rivera Hidalgo in a Forced Disappearance from Nuevo León was embroidered by Teresa Sordo of Guadalajara, Jalisco, and includes a message from her close friend and Roy's mother, Irma Leticia Hidalgo.
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| Mother's Message Photo: Jamie-Leigh Ruse |
This bordado represents the thousands of families struggling in Mexico for the right to Justice, Truth and Remembrance. Bordados stitched with red thread recall those killed; green thread symbolizes hope in the search for The Disappeared; purple thread cries out for women murdered in femicide; black thread speaks of murdered journalists.
The primary driver of these struggles is LOVE for our cherished ones. Embroideries for Peace break the dead silence that the governments want to instill. Spanish original
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| Miniature clothespins attach two small bordados to a thin string. Note pattern of deshilado above text. (For detail, click to enlarge) Photo: Jamie-Leigh Ruse |
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| Tiny necklace circles to form an embrace connecting embroidery of broken hearts to word corazónes (hearts) embroidered on bordado at left. Wings of the Dove reach out from a heart-shaped body (lower left). Photo: Jamie-Leigh Ruse |
Let me add a couple of comments about the embroidery. The image stitched at the upper left corner is a representation of the ancient image of the quincunx. Based on the four cardinal directions (represented here as four circles enclosing hearts), the:
- Vertical's topmost point represents the East (Rising Sun);
- Bottommost point represents West (Setting Sun);
- Horizontal line represents the Earthly Plane, where daily lives are lived; and the
- Point of intersection (center) represents the axis mundi, World Axis, center of the world.
- Earthly plane;
- Heaven (above);
- Underworld (below); the
- Three concentric circles represent the 'center' (axis).
Let me also call attention to the two 'white on white' design strips found on the two small bordados. The technique called deshilado (Pulled-Thread) involves pulling or bundling together fabric threads with embroidery stitches, creating an open, lace-like effect. On this bordado, the deshilado passages appear 'white on white' because the deshilado is superimposed on top of the primary embroidery fabric, but its shadow is perceptible.
Finally, the bordado may be regarded as assemblage because it incorporates non-artistic objects (here, miniatures clothespins and tiny necklace are set next to embroidered passages) used to express both a message and an emotion. The clothespins demonstrate connection to the Bordando por la Paz movement, whose groups install strings of bordados (also see first photo above) to make a visual statement of the victims lost to violence.
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| Embroidered handkerchiefs hung together with clothespins make a visual statement of the collective impact of the violence Photo: Jamie-Leigh Ruse |
The necklace with its tiny stones evokes, perhaps, the maternal embrace interrupted by the heartlessness of violence. To repeat, this bordado is remarkable for its simplicity and its layered complexity. Its inclusion in this exhibit is a powerful statement of making visible what many would prefer to hide or forget.
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| Embroidery exhibited at angle prevents stress Photo: Jamie-Leigh Ruse |
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| Disobedient Objects: Introduction |
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