Fine Cell Work: Human Touch
A stitch to make a difference
"It has shown me that I am not worthless. I can make things of beauty that other people appreciate”
- Ros Weaver, Telegraph Luxury
Branch Out’s motto is collaboration fuels creativity, and no project celebrates this better than Human Touch - an exhibition conceived by Fine Cell Work in collaboration with eight leading contemporary artists working with stitchers in 30 UK prisons to be shown and supported by Sotheby’s. We are delighted to have worked in partnership with our brilliant Associate, Alison Wright, on the PR campaign.
The project was first conceived in 2017 and has been driven by a strong team at Fine Cell Work and their Trustees including Cath Kidston and Sophie Kingsley. We were brought in as the eight pieces were nearing completion in 2019 and were immediately drawn to the project’s brilliant motivation and outcomes. Behind each of these brilliant, uniquely stitched artworks lies a complicated back story of individual relationships built up between the artist and prisoners trained to become skilled stitchers.
Human Touch brings together works by an impressive roster of artists: Ai Weiwei, Idris Khan, Carolina Mazzolari, Annie Morris, Cornelia Parker, Bob and Roberta Smith, Wolfgang Tillmans and Francis Upritchard. Each piece uses a stitching technique carefully chosen to procure the creative vision. For example, Idris Khan's artwork was worked on for over 200 hours by stitcher Ben on a screen-printed fabric.
‘There is a long history and images of tally marks made in prison to mark the length of time someone is in a cell. I really thought it was an exciting idea to make a stitched relic to represent the time it took Ben in his cell to make the artwork’.
- Idris Khan
Through a series of letters, the artists have communicated with the prisoners, with creativity being a common thread. The creative process has led to mutual reflections on rehabilitation & self-esteem. Carolina Mazzolari believes that there is nothing more powerful than creativity to help a soul recuperate. ‘Although the stitchers and I have never met in person, I feel that we met thought our craftsmanship and our ideas.’
The prisoners, many of them serving long sentences, find hope through the embroidery and some have become very skilled. Robert, a stitcher who worked on Ai Weiwei's piece has said of his experience: ‘It's given me a sense of purpose and taught me so many new skills. Showed me that I am not worthless, I am not useless, that I can learn, I can be creative, I can make things of beauty that other people appreciate. It has helped my self-belief and confidence grow. I can be happy, and I can achieve.’
However, at Branch Out, the true investment lies in the experience, confidence and hope given to the stitchers. We are delighted to have worked on such a thought-provoking and meaningful project with Fine Cell Work at Sotheby's that leads the way in making art more socially conscious.
The campaign across traditional news outlets such as the FT’s How to Spend It; Telegraph and Observer, as well as the online magazines, It’s Nice That and A Little Bird, we’ve been delighted with the depth of interest and understanding of our journalist colleagues.
‘Giants of the art world collaborate with prisoners for new exhibition’
- Charlie Filmer-Court, It’s Nice That