For the Conversing with the Earth theme, I have decided to make a quilt connected to people who have deepened our understanding of our earthly environment. The first quilt addressed the discovery of the South Pole, with Roald Amundsen standing in the focus.
The second quilt symbolises the important contribution that Jacques-Yves Cousteau made towards the study of oceans and seas for several decades. He co-invented the first successful open-circuit self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA), which assisted him in producing some of the first underwater documentaries. His work also created a new kind of scientific communication: how to share scientific concepts in a way that they are understood by wide audiences. Although he was criticised for this approach, it has become one of the most important characteristics of modern television.
I must also admit that Cousteau was a kind of childhood hero for me. My father was keen on reading non-fiction books by explorers, travellers and the like, which came out in a series entitled World Travellers in the 1960-1970s. Cousteau, who shot more than 120 (!) documentaries and wrote some 50 books, was among his favourites, and possibly we could also watch some documentaries in the Hungarian television in the seventies.
My vision of the quilt was a lot of cobalt and dark green sea, with Cousteau emerging from the waters. I also knew that in contrast to reality I want to put a red knitted cap on his head, as that had become his signature piece of clothing, and is still often worn by his family members in public events.
I played around a lot with the proportions. Should it be only water or water plus land plus sky? Where to put him? How large the figure should be?
Making the figure was rather a cumbersome process: at 12 cm from nose to top of the head it is the smallest portrait I have ever made.
For the water, I used two thickened dye painted pieces of fabric: one mostly blue, and another one with the same blue plus dark green wavy shapes.
I was absolutely sure that I do not want to use any additional embellishment in the water part. Just quilting improvised lines and shapes with plenty of different colour threads.
The quilt measures 60x80 cm.
I have already begun planning the third piece in the series that will show Edmund Hillary in one way or another.
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