Zoe Leonard, Artist

Zoe Leonard’s Strange Fruit (1992–97) consists of some three hundred fruit skins – bananas, oranges, grapefruits, and lemons – consumed, then stitched back together by the artist with brightly coloured thread and wire. The work was made in the 1990s, during the global AIDS crisis that devastated communities in New York, where Leonard was living and working.

By sewing up wasted peels instead of discarding them, the artist created objects that resemble little bodies FIG. 2. At a time in which her dying friends were treated as disposable by most of the public, the government and the medical community, the task may have offered a defiant respite. Leonard described sewing as a sort of meditation, a private act of mourning.

Above images and text from Burlington Contemporary:

https://contemporary.burlington.org.uk/journal/journal/intent-in-the-making-the-life-of-zoe-leonards-strange-fruit

and Seven Ponds

https://blog.sevenponds.com/soulful-expressions/strange-fruit-for-david-by-zoe-leonard-breathes-new-life-into-death

 

Katrina Perdue, Mender

More to see on artist's website:

https://www.katrinaperdue.com/

 

Nina Katchadourian, Artist

Do-it-Yourself Spiderweb Repair Kit
Plastic box with foam and thread, tweezers, scissors and glue, 1998

The Mended Spiderweb series

The Mended Spiderweb series came about during a six-week period in June and July in 1998 which I spent on Pörtö. In the forest and around the house where I was living, I searched for broken spiderwebs which I repaired using red sewing thread. All of the patches were made by inserting segments one at a time directly into the web. Sometimes the thread was starched, which made it stiffer and easier to work with. The short threads were held in place by the stickiness of the spider web itself; longer threads were reinforced by dipping the tips into white glue. I fixed the holes in the web until it was fully repaired, or until it could no longer bear the weight of the thread. In the process, I often caused further damage when the tweezers got tangled in the web or when my hands brushed up against it by accident.

The morning after the first patch job, I discovered a pile of red threads lying on the ground below the web. At first I assumed the wind had blown them out; on closer inspection it became clear that the spider had repaired the web to perfect condition using its own methods, throwing the threads out in the process. My repairs were always rejected by the spider and discarded, usually during the course of the night, even in webs which looked abandoned. The larger, more complicated patches where the threads were held together with glue often retained their form after being thrown out, although in a somewhat "wilted" condition without the rest of the web to suspend and stretch them. Each "Rejected Patch" is shown next to the photograph showing the web with the patch as it looked on site.

Artist's website:

http://www.ninakatchadourian.com/uninvitedcollaborations/spiderwebs.php
 

Celia Pym, Artist

Elizabeth’s Cardigan, cardigan and wool darning, 50 x 65 cm, 2002-2016

Teaching Jumper, original grey jumper with one moth hole in middle of the chest, wool and acrylic yarn, 

65 x 54cm, 2020

Mended Mushroom Bag, paper bag, wool and cotton, 12 x 24 x 5cm, 2021

Vivien Leigh’s jacket, made by Women’s Home Industries, original garments and white wool mending, 

60 x 105 x 3cm, 2020

More to see on artist's website:

http://celiapym.com/

 

Mark Newport, Artist

More to see on artist's website:

https://marknewportartist.com/Mending-1

 

LDC

Cotton and Sustainability

From sourcing certified cotton to promoting agricultural best practice within and beyond our value chain, we work proactively toward increasingly sustainable operations and supply chains, both as LDC and in collaboration with partner organizations such as the Better Cotton Initiative.

LDC has also begun using  a ‘diagnostic’ system that applies DNA to determine the purity and quality of some of its cotton.

Developed by Applied DNA Sciences, the technology uses tiny genetic markers that are sprayed on the cotton at the gin just before packaging. The DNA markers bind to the plant’s fibers and act as a microscopic barcode that can be tracked throughout the supply chain.

The labels PimaCott and Homegrown, which are used to brand the cotton that is traced through DNA, are useful for manufacturers, traders and retailers. And if consumers see these labels on a product, they have an absolute guarantee that the cotton used in its manufacture was responsibly sourced and produced.

Source link for more info. 

https://www.ldc.com/product/textiles-fibers/