Shades of memory

2023

Materials: Cotton, linen colored with fresh tobacco leaves, other fabrics, cotton thread

Exhibited at L'Andart Biennale 2023, Andorra

"Shades of Memory" is an upcycled textile piece that invites the viewer to go under it as if it were a roof or shelter. This modern quilt is made from unwanted cotton and linen pieces, colored with tobacco leaves, which were once the main asset of the CATSA factory that this building used to house. The tobacco plant provided the people who worked here with a way to earn a living and, consequently, economic security. "Shades of Memory" serves as a symbolic shelter, representing the protective role that these plants played when they were grown, harvested, and processed.

Today, tobacco is often associated with the negative image of harmful smoke. However, this work reinterprets the plant, showcasing its many facets and the various shades it can create when used to dye textiles.

The fabric pieces were sewn together intuitively, with a zero-waste approach, aiming to use every small piece of precious textile material rather than following a predetermined composition. The result is like an abstract map, capturing the memories of this factory space, the experiences of the workers, and the smell, texture, and colors of the tobacco leaves.