Sue Hiley Harris's Ancestor Bags
Ancestor Bags, an installation of new work by textile artist Sue Hiley Harris is currently on show at MOMA Wales (until 28 November)
It’s made up of 30 suspended woven bags inspired by the Australian Aboriginal bags Hiley Harris was given each Christmas by her mother. She didn’t start working with them until a chance visit to Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum when she saw an example made for carrying the bones of dead relatives. The visit coincided with the death of her mother and the two events were a catalyst for the current installation which became a sort of textile memorial to her mother, and other ancestors, as well as an exploration of both her Australian and British roots. ‘It comes from so many different inspirations – my interest in genetics, my family, the string bags themselves, the connection with the past.’
The bags are laid out like a family tree – each one representing different family members – and each one is carefully coded so you can read the different genealogical material. ‘Each bag tells you how old the person was, whether they lived in Australian or Britain, when they had children and how old their children were’ explains Hiley Harris.
www.momawales.org.uk
