Medium: Textile wall hanging
Materials: used, rescued, sanitised, and eco-dyed Handee paper towel, stabliser, thread, customised curtain rail.
Dimensions: 2m x 1.4m

The brand slogan for Handee paper towel is “made to cope with anything you can throw at it.” The personification in “cope” and implied violence in “throw at it” struck me as deeply troubling—it reinforces a national identity built on violence. Here, used Handee paper towels are stained with kitchen scraps, plants, tea, and rust; the palette evoking the bruised/healing body. They are then hand-cut and hand-stitched into a Log Cabin quilt, historically featuring a central red square symbolising the hearth—a place of warmth and safety. Ironic, given Handee’s slogan implies an expected resilience against violence in homes, where many Australian women and children are not safe.