Spinning Yarns is a site-specific, public performance and interactive exhibition that records local stories within spun wool. 

 

Through his work, LUCIANO endeavours to link contemporary society with craft traditions, interweaving them with interactive experiences.  The production of textiles and the act of storytelling are two activities that traditionally brought people together and were often intertwined. As groups of women and sometimes families came together to produce textiles for trade, dowry or everyday use, stories were shared. These stories kept the makers entertained whilst they made textiles in repetitive and intricate ways. 

 

Today we often gather around tables to share stories, in cafes and our homes, catching up and sharing yarns with our friends and family over food and drink.  In the last year, this has been difficult, unable to visit hospitality venues and with restricted numbers of visitors, if they were allowed at all. Tables that were a setting for our storytelling left empty, social distancing leaving some socially isolated. 

 

After the isolating events of the last year, LUCIANO wants to connect people through these traditionally social activities, re-engaging them with their local communities and this historical craft technique. 

 

Whilst spinning yarn on a drop spindle, LUCIANO will listen as people spin their own yarns, recounting local stories. These stories, recorded in wool, will be attached to LUCIANO’s tablecloths, the cloth becoming a record of the conversations had in each location.

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Photographs by Lucy Foster and Janelle Low