In February 2021, scientists, via the Hubble Space Telescope, uncovered a concentration of small black holes. The focus of their study is almost as old as the Universe itself and it is 7,800 lightyears away. This new discovery seemed to me to be the epitome of ‘Uncharted’. I took the artist’s impression of the black holes as my starting point. I wanted to capture the feeling of space and therefore used a mix of sheer and semisheer materials. Black satin denotes the dense black holes and metallic fabrics and threads the surrounding stars.
This work combines organza, metallic fabrics, florist’s wrap, black satin and a semi sheer printed fabric. There are layers with appliqué on top of, and between, them. I wanted to maintain the floating, sheer nature of these fabrics therefore the quilt is predominantly hand stitched with metallic thread, embroidery silk and assorted beads. A single line of machine stitch holds the layers together. Edges of the materials have been left unfinished to allow the movement into space.
