Stitching Souls: Threads of Silence
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Stitching Souls is an installation by British Trinidadian artist Karen McLean (born 1959). It comprises of 132 heads created with authentic African fabrics using traditional quilting techniques. Made in partnership with a community of sewers in the artist’s home city of Birmingham, the work honours and memorialises the enslaved African people who lost their lives in the Zong Massacre (1781).
The slaving vessel Zong was financed by a group of Liverpool businessmen. The ship made navigational errors during its voyage from the west coast of Africa to Black River, Jamaica. The crew claimed to be running low on water supplies and threw 133 enslaved African people overboard to reduce demand. Of those, 54 are thought to have been women and children. One person is believed to have survived. Enslaved people were routinely insured at sea as ‘cargo’ and treated as non-human objects. Liverpool merchants attempted to claim compensation for their loss of ‘cargo’. In the case of the Zong, the definition was used to legally justify the murder of 132 enslaved African people.
Stitching Souls draws inspiration from the Walker’s collection of merchant portraits. It reflects on the origin of Liverpool’s wealth and its direct link to slavery and the cotton trade. McLean’s work emphasises how these atrocities have been silenced throughout British history. Through the act of stitching and sewing, she creates a platform for healing to support dialogue, reflection and recovery.
Karen McLean has undertaken an artist residency at the Walker Art Gallery as part of the 20/20 project. The project was led by University of the Arts London (UAL) Decolonising Arts Institute and supported by funding from Arts Council England, the Freelands Foundation and UAL.
To find out more about the 20/20 project please visit the website
Further information:
- Opening times: Tuesday to Sunday 10.00 am – 4.00 pm
- Entry is free; there is a charge for some exhibitions
- Location Walker Art Gallery, William Brown Street, Liverpool L3 8EL
- How to get there By train: Liverpool Lime Street – Wirral and national services, Moorfields station – Northern line services (Southport – Hunts Cross), Liverpool Central – Wirral and Northern line services; By car: the Walker is in the city centre, close to the entrance to the Queensway Tunnel and Lime Street Station – follow the directions to Liverpool Lime St station where there is a car park just opposite the Walker Art Gallery in William Brown Street; By bus: nearest bus stations are Queens Square bus station and Liverpool One bus station
- Further information 0151 478 4199
