Reflections

Instructions

Loretta Pettway

Log Cabin (1980) and Two-sided work clothes quilt: Bars and Blocks (1960)

Pettway is from Gee Bend quilting collective in Alabama. The town of Gee Bend was named after the plantation owner Joseph Gee, and it is home to many residents who are direct descendants of slaves, adding a complicated historical background to the community.

The quilting collective uses secondhand pieces of denim, cotton, and corduroy. Traditionally, their grandparents would use any available material suitable for sewing, including cloth sacks from flour and sugar, as well as striped bedding.

The quilts are sewn during harvest to be ready for winter, serving as a necessity to keep warm in unheated homes rather than being created solely as pieces of art.

These quilts symbolise the resilience of an underprivileged community, showcasing their resourcefulness in order to survive.

They are splattered with stains from usage, making them more suitable for a museum than an exhibition. However, when looking at the quilts as art, Pettway and her team create visually striking patterns with asymmetrical and graphical designs. The limited colour palette is a result of the restricted options of materials available, however they are delicately employed.

The greens and blues are grouped together harmoniously in "[…] Bars and blocks", creating a graphical gradient and a pop of red to entertain. "Log Cabin" emphasises vibrant cadmium reds by containing them in a sea of blue, once more aquamarine in older photos, now faded to a more azure shade. "Log Cabin" is positioned closest to ground level amongst all the pieces in the Unravel exhibition, slightly elevated on a plinth without glass protection. This direct placement highlights the down-to-earth nature of quilting as a blanket for everyday use.

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