For the love of language

Paula do Prado, Scan of Adiafa/Diyafa Journal, 2011

One of the initial ideas for this project came from an interest in the way language contains evidence of cultural shifts whether through colonisation or popular culture.  Because of my family heritage I was interested in the use of Castellano in Uruguay and was surprised to learn that many of the Spanish words used today are derived from Classic Arabic language.    Throughout the process of developing work for the exhibition I have been making various lists of words. At the beginning I had focussed on common words between Arabic and Spanish.  More recently I began to list words associated with the experience of borders and their crossing: trespass, force, occupy, frontier, protection, reunion, absence and gratitude.

Save the date: 15 October 2011

It's confirmed! Our exhibition Gifts of Exchange will open on Saturday the 15th of October 2011 at 3pm. The exhibition is at Cross Art Projects in Kings Cross.

Nicole and I had a mock install today. It's been just under 12 months of preparation for this exhibition and we are very excited by how the work has progressed.

Objects and works in progress 

Pattern and textile inspirations

Dialogues with place: memories of a rose garden and a walk through Kings Cross

The gift of welcome

A welcome feast on arrival in Montevideo, Uruguay

A day spent with family in Minas, Uruguay

Family gathering, Porto Alegre, Brazil

Family and friends gathering Minas, Uruguay

Only the best is laid out for breakfast, Montevideo

My cousin's 21st Birthday party, catered by one of my aunts

Regalos (Gifts): Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons

In the Studio #2

Paper and fabric sample by Nicole

Plastic tablecloth purchased in Lebanon

Collected thread and crochet sample by Paula

The finished sample with hair added by Paula

In the studio #1

The back of a stitched sample by Paula

Samples and materials in Nicole's studio

Nicole and I have been meeting regularly to work together in the studio.  Sometimes I go to her studio or she has come over to my home studio, or we have met somewhere in the middle.  The time spent working in the studio together always seems to pass too quickly.  We begin by catching up and showing each other samples we've been working on individually. More often than not we'll find common interests in techniques or ideas.  As we settle down to work on our individual pieces, we listen to music, talk and exchange stories and memories triggered by the ideas within the project.

I've been keeping a list of some of the words and ideas we've each discussed at our meetings. A selection is included here;

Nicole
Paper
Russian Textiles
Pattern
Plastic tablecloth purchased in Lebanon
Drawing of an earring from a museum collection
The power of place
Memory embedded and layered within place

Paula
Threads
Hair
Spanish words with roots in Arabic
Photographs of Kings Cross
Photographs of Abuela's house in Montevideo
Crocheted offerrings
Vessel/cups

A dialogue with place: King Cross

A beautiful Art Deco building with a newer, larger  block of flats reflected in the glass doors

Autumn branches 

The trunk of the tree above

I love how the branches of this ancient tree seem to stretch out to embrace as much of the land as possible.

Grids and shadows

The shadows of the branches make a lace like pattern on the paving

Without the context of the ground, these palms could be anywhere 

Offshoots on the trunk of a tree

The Roosevelt framed in ruby red