The French love politics and so do I. I came to live in this country over 30 years ago at the tail end of Punk. Punk was not only about music, it was inspired by May 68 in Paris, Situationism and its confrontational slogans. I used to edit a best selling Punk fanzine in the late 90’s, an extension of my copywriting activities. I have also designed textile homeware accessories embellished with appliqué and stitched slogans. Putting together words and textile is an attractive way to put your message across.
When the Occupy movement moved to St Paul’s, I went to visit the site. There were posters, banners, slogans that people put on the walls for others to read, take pictures and interact. I went back with my own poster about bankers’ greed and hung it. People started to take pictures immediately.
I had never heard of the Craftivist Collective, but when the V&A put up an event in Spring 2014, I was intrigued and I went. I loved the concept of the collective and atmosphere of the workshop. I decided to renew the experience so I came back on 7th September, to stitch a mini-banner about world poverty.
I had planned my slogan a long time ago: In some African languages, poor and alone are the same word. I stitched it at the V&A, met interesting people and shared my views and theories about Craftivism. Russell Brand turned up because his mum was one of the volunteer I had been talking to. She had found my banner deeply poignant.
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| Russell Brand and Sarah Corbett founder of the Craftivist Collective. Brand was very interested in Sarah's book about Craftivism. You can buy it online at her Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/craftivistcollective?ref=ss_profile |
Russell Brand came also to visit because of the Disobedient Objects free exhibition at the museum about protests from the 70’s up to now. I went to view it later and I found stitched banners similar to what we had made in the afternoon.
I wanted the mini-banner to reflect my own background. I stitched Toile de Jouy on top, a fabric first created at the time of the French Revolution. I glued a penny on top.
I planned to hang the banner on 11th September at Bank. 9/11 and the financial crisis have been the two most traumatising events of the last decade. The direct consequence was a destabilised world with even worse poverty¸ inequality, neglect and contempt for ordinary people. My mini-banner was an attempt to stir opposite forces against the overwhelming negativity of the place, Bank, and the occasion, 9/11.
I hung the mini-banner on the tube station rails, the Bank of England on my right, the Royal exchange opposite, under the gaze of the statue of the Duke of Wellington, at the heart of the City and the Establishment. Tourists started to take pictures. I stayed there a few minutes, City type men rushed past it without taking any notice. It didn’t matter. It was mission accomplished as far as I was concerned.
What Sarah Corbett has created with her Craftivist Collective is a challenge to the consensus and the received wisdom that only organised protest within define frames is possible. She has shown that ordinary, lone individuals can act on their own and influence others in a novel way. The act of stitching takes time and concentration. It is this crucial element which makes Craftivism a positive and effective way for change to take place within the public sphere and the collective consciousness. It is also an attractive device to regain control over our public spaces and our own lives.
