PEI Craft Council asked artists to respond to the destruction from Post-tropical storm Fiona which hit Prince Edward Island, Canada September 24th, 2022, with heavy rain and winds over 170 km/h.
https://artsandheritagepei.ca/operator/fiona-close-up-and-personal-exhibit/
Initially I was intrigued with how much lichens look like doilies. Their shapes and intricacies as well as that they ‘drape’ over rocks and branches looking like they might be protecting them as doilies originally protected furniture from antimacassar oil hair products.
But the relationship between doilies and lichens goes deeper and darker. The doilies represent colonial times and thus climate destruction and its impact on the environment from air pollution to an increase extreme weather events like Fiona.
Lichens are critical to the environment and are very slow growing. Some only grow 0.5 mm a year. How many lichens have we lost on the trees that have been felled from Fiona and have now been chipped or burnt?
I have adapted an old doily designs that looks like a stylised lichens and crocheted it in natural 100% wool. I felted them and then dyed it with lichens I scraped off the branches of some trees I had to have cut down because of Fiona. (I would normally never consider collecting lichens for dying because it’s not sustainable but these logs are destined for a chipper). I then created lichens in the doilies by knitting embroidery thread as well as needle felting
