Traces of belonging

Traces of belonging is a participatory textile project about displacement,
belonging, and the shifting boundary between inside and outside. Through
collective making, the work explores how experiences of migration are
carried in the body, remembered through gestures, and held in everyday
materials.
The project unfolds through workshops with people who have migration
backgrounds. Participants are invited to reflect on personal rituals, symbols, or
gestures that connect them to places they have left or continue to carry within
them. These reflections are translated into textile fragments using simple sewing
and marking techniques. No prior skills are required; the focus lies on shared
time, touch, and exchange.
Inspired by the Central Asian tradition of Suzani embroidery-where textiles are
made collectively and carry regional symbols and wishes-the project treats
textile-making as a shared language rather than decoration. Each fragment
remains personal, yet becomes part of a larger surface through joining and
stitching.
All textile pieces are later assembled into one large horizontal cloth, suspended
above the viewers’ heads. Hovering between ceiling and body, the textile creates
a soft in-between space. It does not draw borders, but gathers traces of memory,
movement, and care. Seams, overlaps, and irregularities remain visible,
emphasizing connection rather than uniformity.
The work is intentionally left unfinished. It reflects the idea that belonging is not a
fixed state but an ongoing process-shaped by movement, negotiation, and
collective presence. Standing beneath the textile, viewers enter a shared space
where outside and inside overlap, and where stories of migration are held not as
narratives, but as material traces.