KNÜPFEN UND KÜMMERN - Marina Klein, Lea Bongni
27.04 – 03.05.2024


Knüpfen und Kümmern (caring and connecting threads) is a
participatory process touching the topics of care, collectivi-
ty, and archiving. The center of the exhibition is the textile
archive in the form of a carpet. It is a place for memories and
stories between humans and textiles to be documented and
taken care of.
Archives often contain stories that seem important, and at the
same time give more importance to the stories they contain.
In an attempt to create a more tender and instinctive archive,
we initiated the textile archive. The textile archive is a versati-
le space where subjective and personal encounters of use and
emotional value are gathered. Through the decision of inclu-
ding stories that seem trivial and personal, the archive beco-
mes softer.
In an attempt to not only metaphorically soften the archi-
ve, but also physically, the archive consists of a large textile
carpet complemented by audio recordings. Fabric is an inte-
resting material for creating this archive because it can carry
information or evoke emotions by touching or smelling the
material, or remembering the last time the fabric touched our
skin. When we sew textiles together, we connect their stories
and shape the character of the archive. The individual stories
change when they are connected with other memories.
It is important to us that the archive stays in use and versatile.
In public moments, the archive will be open for participation
and exchange. Its shape allows the archive to use it as a pla-
ce to relax and socialize. The textile archive remains open for
transformation: Visitors will be invited to take away pieces of
textiles from the archive in exchange for new material. New
stories are added, and others become less prominent.
The identity of the archive will change as the stories shaping
its character evolve. Our intention is to keep in exchange with
and about the stories and thus keep them alive. Through the
physical adding and subtracting of textiles, the archive will
document traces of use and repair. As well as each textile has a story woven into it, the archive itself is telling a story.
As curators of the archive, we take responsibility for the integ-
rity of each story and textile. Content that is discriminatory,
for example based on gender, gender identity, age, race, ethni-
city, socioeconomic situation, language, religion, physical attri-
butes, or sexual orientation is censored or not being used.

Marina Klein: https://www.instagram.com/mkhietpas/?...
Lea Bongni: https://www.instagram.com/lea.leergut...

www.neuftrois.ch
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