Resonate (ii) - Hannah Mae Buckingham

Resonate Artist Hannah Mae Buckingham reflects on their process -

now that our exhibition In Touch, In Ruin is open at Aspex Portsmouth, I have some time to finish sharing my process from the residency with Play Office - here is part 2.

SOUND

salt - silt - silk - kiss

one of the first things i made during this residency was a short sound piece. it consists of the four words ‘salt - silt - silk - kiss’ which are layered with field recording of the waves and sea from the area around the Hard. it loops in an endless cycle, creating an almost ambient echo.

the sound piece incorporates the use of a directional speaker which creates an immersive and intimate experience for the listener, through channelling sound in a specific direction by focusing sound waves.

SOFT ENGINEERING

to make a bed of silt

i searched for ‘bed of silt’ images online, curious what would show up as results.

i came across an environmental object called a ‘silt mat’

‘SiltMats are a natural and effective soft engineering solution for restoring balance and managing sediment pollution in channel.’ - SiltMat - Salix Products

‘Silt mat products are a 100% biodegradable water quality solution that captures and traps silt and sediment to prevent dirty water from polluting rivers and other watercourses, causing siltation.’ - Silt Mat™ Frog Environmental

the silt mats look like large pillows, softly bedded into the silt. they are made of natural plant materials including coconut fibre so that they can easily biodegrade and don’t cause further harm to the environment.

i knew that i wanted to recreate and transform this idea of a silt mat into a pillow that could be felt, touched, rested on. i liked the idea of the silt mat/pillow becoming a symbol of the shared sleeping space of two men on board the ship, a final resting place perhaps after it sank. something that i could invite others to inhabit and experience.

for it to be a soft, comfortable sensory experience, i needed to consider which materials were suitable to make it with.

i used banana fibre yarn [bananas being one of the largest imports in Portsmouth] to create the woven grid, which Harry kindly taught me how to set up using a canvas frame.

i made an internal pillow for the silt mat with deadstock organza and filled it with sheep’s wool stuffing, adding dried lavender to the filling to add scent using a herb which would have been used within Tudor burials.

the borders of the silt mat are recycled sari-silk yarn made from waste materials which i ironed flat and hand-stitched onto the weave.

the whole process of making the silt mat was done by hand, and through figuring it out as i went along. i made a pattern for the size of the internal pillow, and used the size of the weave as a guide for this. the reverse of the silt mat is a vintage silk remnant fabric which i’ve had stashed away for a few years.

working with very delicate, fluid fabrics, i found the easiest and most careful process was to slowly hand sew everything together.

the silt mat is secured by the loose ends of the bamboo yarn from the edge of the weave being tied with the silk yarn to hold everything in place.