Wear and Tear

Decay is a vast and intriguing subject. Nearly everything in this world ages, decays, and eventually disintegrates. While natural materials often follow a swift cycle of decay, certain man-made materials degrade so slowly that it takes generations to witness the process.

As an artist working with textiles, I chose to explore fabric decay—examining the many ways it manifests and finding creative solutions to extend the life of fabric, even when it shows signs of deterioration.

For my first quilt, I focused on the wear and tear of fabrics. In today’s world, where we are inundated with an abundance of textiles, many people discard worn and torn fabrics, contributing to growing landfills. However, the Japanese tradition of boro offers a different approach.

Boro (or boromono) translates to “rags” and refers to textiles from rural northern Japan that were repeatedly patched and mended to prolong their use. Rooted in the philosophy of mottainai—a respect for resources and regret over waste—boro emerged from economic and environmental necessity. Today, it has evolved into an art form and meditative practice.

In creating my quilt, I incorporated a worn-out quilting glove, fragments of a hand-embroidered tablecloth that had been used until it developed holes, and a piece of hand-woven linen towel. The tablecloth itself had signs of earlier mending before being discarded and given to me.

Every element of the quilt is hand-stitched, honoring the traditional boro techniques and embracing the beauty found in fabric decay and restoration.