Tying the knots

Abstract

Alice Kettle’s stitched works can be viewed in the canon of English figurative embroidery. She uses stitch and thread as a narrative device and as a connecting line, which ties together individual and collective stories as multiple strands across time. The article gives an overview of Kettle’s works which integrate autobiography with mythology and contemporary event, tracing the lineage practices of women and offering a feminine viewpoint to chronicle experience. The works document the recent histories of sociopolitical disruption in Europe, which heralded the fragmentation of unity and Brexit. The recent project Thread Bearing Witness concerns people displacement, migration and global conflict. Stitch is used as a means to represent the marginalized and multiple voices of refugees and those seeking asylum. Stitch is viewed as an expressive and empowering means to change perceptions, promote change and as a common language of making.