FILM STRIP QUILTS BY SABRINA GSCHWANDTNER

Yesterday, I was completely mesmerized by Sabrina Gschwandtner's film strip quilts, currently on display in her show, Sunshine and Shadow, at the Philadelphia Art Alliance.  I had been meaning to check out their other exhibitions, including “LTextile”: Contemporary Textiles from Lithuania & Emily Spivack: Sentimental Value, in addition to Sabrina's work, all on display until the 18th of this month.  And I was so glad I went.

I already can't wait to go back to one more time to view the quilts, each consisting of hundreds of tiny de-accessioned 16 mm film strips acquired from New York's Fashion Institute of Technology.  Sabrina has taken these films, all documenting craft and technique processes, and sew them together in typical Pennsylvania quilt patterns.  In addition to sewing the strips, Sabrina alters them through beaching, painting, and scratching - adding her own sense of labor to the pieces.  On the walls, the works are displayed in framed light boxes, providing illumination to each and every frame and stitch.  The quilts evoke a monumental sense of the labor of craft, as well as layers of a rich history of textile production here in Philadelphia and the quilt-making tradition of the Amish & Mennonite further outside the city. 

 

If you are in Philly between now and August 18th, I highly recommend a visit to this show.

Images ~ Top collage images via Sabrina Gschwandtner's website, Bottom 3 close-ups were taken by myself

~ Bonnie