Teabags as a Substrate

Going Green - Denpasar

My daughter imports from Indonesia and each year one of us goes over to keep the relationship with the suppliers alive. At the end of the street where our agent lives is a refuge station. All day hand pulled carts bring the detritus from the streets of Denpasar and this young lady sits there day after day sorting the rubbish into recyclable bags.

When I made this quilt I decided that everything except the free machined image of the young woman should be made from recycled pieces. The background is teabags fused to an old cotton sheet and free machine quilted. The rubbish pile that threatens to overwhelm her is eco dyed from an old woollen blanket, the rubbish in the foreground is various packaging materials, the flowers at the top are hydrangea flowers encased in organza and the leaves are silk leaves that have become detached from shop displays and were headed to the rubbish.

I added the branch of greenery as a symbol of hope. This young lady had all the wants of any young person and yet her days were filled with rubbish. I wonder if she appreciated the significance of her small contribution to the major rubbish problem that many large cities face.