The museum in the Hermitage in Amsterdam has been showing an exhibition about classic handicrafts since February. Not the handicraft techniques, but the personal stories behind the manufactured works are the focus of the new exhibition entitled “Continue this Thread”. It should inspire people to rediscover handicrafts and to take them up again themselves.
The exhibition opened on Friday 17th February but as early as Thursday morning 16th February the press had the opportunity to explore ‘Continue this Thread’. One of the first things that struck you about the exhibition was its interactive nature, inviting exploration. “The works are deliberately not behind glass,” explained curator Roberto Luis Martins during the press tour. “Obviously that’s very exciting because people aren’t allowed to touch the pieces, but that way they can get as close as possible to them.” There are also magnifying glasses at various points in the exhibition, which visitors can use to zoom in even further. In addition, they are motivated to participate right from the start, as they have to move sliding panels to see all the exhibits.
”Continue this Thread” begins with the work of designers Tess van Zalinge and Karim Adduchi, who curated the exhibition. The two creatives and curator Roberto Luis Martins met at another exhibition at the Amsterdam Museum, Maison Amsterdam. Martins was impressed by the work of the two and wanted to research their work further. Both Van Zalinge and Adduchi work with artisan techniques in their fashion creations. Van Zalinge is often inspired by patchwork and Adduchi is known, among other things, for its embroidery. But that doesn’t mean that the entire exhibition is filled with just her work. Instead, they chose pieces from different creatives that tell a personal story. Over a hundred objects by designers, activists and also ‘ordinary citizens’ can be seen.
Exhibition “Continue this Thread” shows the stories behind the craft
The starting point for the concept was found in the depot of the Amsterdam Museum. Van Zalinge and Adduchi found a folder with 97 handicraft patterns, but the creator was not known (at the time). “For us designers, our name is our brand,” explained Adduchi at the vernissage. “So it was very unusual for us that we didn’t know the name of the person who made the movement.” Van Zalinge adds: “Why did he or she do it? How old was she? How long did the person work on it?” Eventually it turns out that the folder with the handicrafts belonged to Bregje Vreugdenhil. The needlework was a schoolwork. “That inspired us to give a stage to the faces and stories behind the crafts and to look for stories from then and now.”
Another such personal story is that of Nihat Cevahir. Growing up in Turkey, circumstances prevented him from turning his passion for fashion into a career. Eventually moving to Amsterdam to work in a shipyard gave him the space to get back into embroidery. Consequently, the exhibition features an embroidered prayer rug by Cevahir’s hand, for which he is now quite well known in Turkish circles in Amsterdam.
A poignant moment on the journey through “Continue this Thread” are the handicrafts available on loan from the Resistance Museum. One of the embroidered patches on display, made in concentration camps, reads, “Dear Papa and Dear Mama, It can’t always be winter, Sister.” It’s a vivid example of how embroidery was also a possibility during the war years was to express feelings. The embroidered patches are accompanied by a sweater embroidered with a tree of life by Ukrainian refugee Liudmyla Tyzhuk. She embroidered with light thread on a dark background. “This illustrates the sense of bright hope I feel in these dark days,” reads the accompanying text.
Those who find it difficult to shake off the gripping emotions can find some calm in a special soundscape (an audio work) by Otion. The sound installation entitled “Frekti Singi” (“Interwoven Song” in Sranantongo) is like an acoustic bed cover. The sounds so characteristic of crafts (the sounds of fabrics, of knitting needles touching) are intertwined, creating an almost hypnotic sound. The installation is thus a reference to the ‘healing powers of craftsmanship’. The monotony of movements has a calming effect; Knitting, for example, is said to be good for the body and mind. It was not for nothing that handicrafts experienced an upswing during the pandemic, when many people were looking for relaxation and tranquility.
If the various impressive pieces aren’t motivating enough for visitors to reach for their own needle and thread, there is also a room dedicated to leaf embroidery. Here, guests are encouraged to add their own leaves to the interactive artwork. “And while spring makes everything bloom outside, the same thing is happening in here,” Martins jokes.
Another interactive element can be found at the end of the exhibition. The interactive fitting mirror makes it possible to try on a Van Zalinge design via a large screen, as well as a patchwork skirt celebrating the 1945 liberation of the Netherlands. All in all, there’s a lot to do and discover in Continue this Thread. It feels like an adventure through the archives of various museums. The exhibition should hit a nerve, because after all, many people have or had family members who deal with handicrafts. You can almost imagine your own grandmother sitting happily in the corner with a cup of tea and tinkering. Crafts can heal, tell stories and give people a voice. It is therefore special and beautiful that the Amsterdam museum shows these techniques in a completely new light and literally builds on a centuries-old craft.
The exhibition can be seen from February 17 to September 3, 2023 at the Amsterdam Museum in the Hermitage.
This article was similarly published on FashionUnited.nl. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ