Printed hankies by Chris De Rosa is on at artroom5, Adelaide (Australia) 19 to 26 November
Image: Chris De Rosa, hankies – found and printed on, 2008, Photo: Michal Kluvanek
At some stage in my past I became aware of a handicraft practised by my aunties whereby they would add decorative flourishes to already existing hankies as a means of both learning handicrafts (needlework, embroidery etc.) and personalising and adding value to an otherwise impersonal item. My printed additions were my own contemporary version of this practice, a means of carrying on the tradition and paying a kind of tribute to those hand crafting practices and the women and girls who pursued them.
