Andre rom (Other rooms)
Embroidered tablecloth, found objects, 2024

Over several years, I and three other artists worked together with a group of people with dementia. We explored artistic co-creation as a method, and worked together towards an exhibition that addressed the fragility and strength we could feel within our community. In the exhibition, works created collaboratively were interwoven with pieces made by the four of us artists who worked on the project.

The tablecloth lies on the table during coffee breaks at the workshop. Stains and marks that appear on the tablecloth are not removed, but instead reinforced and brought out through embroidery.

When the tablecloth has been fully embroidered, it is brought back to the workshop. It lies on one table. On another table, a collection of objects is placed: a vase, a key, a book about weeds, a strip of lace, a broken string of beads, a faded photograph of two smiling women. The group sits in a semicircle around the tables. One by one, or two by two, everyone comes forward and chooses an object from the table, which is placed on the tablecloth. After each new action, we pause and talk about the associations, feelings and thoughts that the arrangement of objects on the tablecloth sets in motion. A story with many layers slowly takes shape.