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Unfolding Projects: The Handkerchief Project
 

The Handkerchief Project, also known as Making Marks, is an image-text project initiated by artists in Australia as acts of connection and exchange with women in Afghanistan. The completed artworks comprise handkerchiefs that have been printed on, embroidered and marked in various ways with images and text by women from both countries.

 

The objective of the project has been to utilize artistic practice to support women in Afghanistan in their quest to acquire and use literacy skills. As Australian women living in privileged circumstances in a country whose military was involved in Afghanistan, we felt a responsibility to connect to Afghan women living in circumstances of war and immense hardships. By presenting and exchanging our personal worlds of art and text we were creating a meeting place – despite the challenges of difference – in the space of an artwork.

 

In 2017, 20 Australian women artists created imagery in line with their artistic practice, on individual handkerchiefs. These handkerchief ‘pages’ were delivered to OPAWC’s Vocational Centre in Kabul, with an offer to Afghan women learning literacy skills to relate to the imagery by writing directly on, over or around the imagery in any medium.

 

43 handkerchiefs out of the 60 returned to Australia in 2018, marked by the women in Afghanistan who voiced their hopes, longings and ambitions in embroidered text. Moreover, they extended their embroidery over the initial imagery, resulting in an interwoven relationship on the shared space of an artwork.

 

Despite challenges of communication and the circumstances of a country in conflict, most of the artwork made its way from Australia to Kabul, and back. We don’t know why 17 of the handkerchiefs did not return; were they lost? Were they damaged? Did some of the women have to leave the Centre before completing their work? Whatever the reasons, it feels indicative of the situation of instability in Afghanistan.

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The book about the project, Making Marks: Australia and Afghanistan, can be purchased from www.vividpublishing.com.au/makingmarks/

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MakingMarks_cover.jpg

 

Click on the images below to view the full-sized artworks 

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Artwork once marked
Original artwork by Australian artists

Artwork twice marked
Completed artworks by Afghan artists

Kath Armour

Kath Armour and unnamed Afghan woman

Kath Armour

Kath Armour and Mursal 

Kath Armour

Kath Armour and unnamed Afghan woman

Rosalind Atkins

Rosalind Atkins and Shagofa

Rosalind Atkins

Rosalind Atkins and Arzoo

Rosalind Atkins

Rosalind Atkins and Fatana

Tracey Avery

Tracey Avery and Mariam 

Tracey Avery

Tracey Avery and Mina Jun

Tracey Avery

Tracey Avery and Diar Jun

Marian Crawford

Marian Crawford and Aziza

Marian Crawford

Marian Crawford and Shagofa

Marian Crawford

Marian Crawford and Arzoo

Tess Edwards

Tess Edwards and unnamed Afghan woman

Tess Edwards

Tess Edwards and Frishta

Di Ellis

Di Ellis and Madina

Silvi Glattauer

Silvi Glattauer and Aysha Ahmad

Silvi Glattauer

Silvi Glattauer and Seema Ahmady

Silvi Glattauer

Silvi Glattauer and Sameen gul Ahmad

Annique Goldenberg 

Annique Goldenberg and unnamed Afghan woman

Annique Goldenberg

Annique Goldenberg and Salma

Annique Goldenberg

Annique Goldenberg and Fauzia

Karena Goldfinch

Karena Goldfinch and Hamida

Karena Goldfinch

Karena Goldfinch and Taqwa

Karena Goldfinch

Karena Goldfinch and unnamed Afghan woman

Barbara Kameniar

Barbara Kameniar and unnamed Afghan woman

Barbara Kameniar

Barbara Kameniar and Hajira 

Jennifer Kamp

Jennifer Kamp and Madina

Jennifer Kamp

Jennifer Kamp and Fatima

Catherine Pilgrim

Catherine Pilgrim and Marva

Catherine Pilgrim

Catherine Pilgrim and Sumaya

Catherine Pilgrim

Catherine Pilgrim and Zenab