KATHRYN CLARK

  • Projects
    • SOS, US Capitol Dome
    • SOS, US Supreme Court
    • Harm to Ongoing Matter, The Mueller Report
    • Map of Washington DC, After Trump Arrived
    • Fragile Democracy, The White House
    • Potemkin White House
    • The Other Side, US Capitol Cornice Detail
    • Foreclosure Quilts
    • Refugee Stories
    • The Russia Project
    • Landgrab - Mali
    • Prints
  • Books/Press
    • Press
    • books
  • ABOUT
    • bio
    • cv
    • contact
  • Research
  • Projects
    • SOS, US Capitol Dome
    • SOS, US Supreme Court
    • Harm to Ongoing Matter, The Mueller Report
    • Map of Washington DC, After Trump Arrived
    • Fragile Democracy, The White House
    • Potemkin White House
    • The Other Side, US Capitol Cornice Detail
    • Foreclosure Quilts
    • Refugee Stories
    • The Russia Project
    • Landgrab - Mali
    • Prints
  • Books/Press
    • Press
    • books
  • ABOUT
    • bio
    • cv
    • contact
  • Research

foreclosure quilts

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My previous work as an urban planner made me acutely aware of how big an impact the foreclosure crisis would have on our cities and towns throughout the United States. However, very little was mentioned in the news.

It was important to me to present the whole story in a way that would captivate people’s attention and make a memorable statement. Making map quilts seemed an ironic solution. Quilts act as a functional memory, an historical record of difficult times.  It is during times of hardship that people have traditionally made quilts, often resorting to scraps of cloth when so poor they could not afford to waste a single thread of fabric.

The neighborhoods shown are not an anomaly; they are a recurring pattern seen from coast to coast, urban to suburban neighborhoods across the US. The problem has not been solved, it is still occurring, just changing shape, affecting more of us.

Interviews in Bloomberg CityLab and Surface Design Journal.

Albuquerque Foreclosure Quilt
2012
Linen, wool, yarn and embroidery floss
47" x 35"
Albuquerque Foreclosure Quilt, details
2012
Embroidery and acrylic on linen and cotton
47" x 35"

Picture
Shelter Structure (Al Zaatari Refugee Camp)
2016
Hand embroidery and watercolor on Tyvek and cotton organdy
46" x 59"


Picture
By Sea (The Aegean)
2016
Hand embroidery and watercolor on cotton and cotton organdy
48" x 62"


Picture
By Land
2017
Hand embroidery on cotton organdy
60" x 58"



Picture
New Home
2017
Hand embroidery and watercolor on cotton organdy
56" x 56"