Uncomfortable Truth

Uncomfortable Truth uses nettles as a material that grows in abundance and this growth is accelerated with an increase in nutrition. Nettles have been used within forensic investigation[1] as well as being found within archaeological burials proving the use of nettle as a source of textile fibre[2]. I see nettles as the ‘observers’ of the unidentified deaths and I have begun to use nettle cordage made from nettles at the sites of unidentified deaths to repair a second-hand blanket.

The act of repair is a meditative process of care, using the time taken to consider and think about unidentified individuals. Damage is the evidence of movement in life, holding an imprint of the wearer. The hole symbolises an absence and the repair fills this absence, the threads closing the gaps to fully repair the hole. Visibly mending cloth highlights this space, making it visible, whilst memorialising and acknowledging the previous existence.

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[1] Nettles were used during the Soham investigation by forensic botanist Patricia Wiltshire https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jan/10/gender.uk

[2] Bergfjord, C. e. a. (2012) ‘Nettle as a distinct Bronze Age textile plant’, Scientific Reports, 2(664).