Craftivism is the concept of marrying craft and activism together usually referred to as a 'quiet' form of activism. Using textile, most often, to create political or social statements. Today I shall examine the role craftivism has in war and conflict.
During the first and second World Wars crafting was used in multiple ways. The first was as a therapeutic tool to calm soldiers with shell shock a form of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).
During the second world, war activism established itself. Major Alexis Casdagli, was held in a Nazi prisoner of war camp, after six months he began to produce a cross stitch pattern on a piece of canvas. The dotted message around the edge border deciphers God Save the King and Fuck Hitler. This tapestry was then hung in the camp where he was imprisoned, the code was never deciphered. A quiet protest that only the prisoners would have understood, attempting to raise morale and keep pushing without getting themselves killed.
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| Major Alexis Casdagli, Cross Stitch on Canvas, 1941. |
Contemporary craftivism contributions to anti-war protests depict very different scenes. Rugs created in Pakistan and Iraq have contained images from assault rifles to military drones. particularly Pakistan rugs had seen a large increase is drone patterns due to the on-going US military drone program.
"According to an October 2014 update from the UK-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism, more than 1,000 civilians have been killed in Pakistan by drone strikes over the past ten years, around one-fifth of them children."
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| Embroidered Rug, Artist Uknown, Location Uknown. |
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“One of the older local weavers, now in her 80s, told me that the reason for weaving drones on carpets by women here is to show to the West that their brutal killing machines are always under our feet" - https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-02-19/their-brutal-killing-machines-are-always-under-our-feet-pakistans-war-rug-weavers
The importance of the creation of these rugs, I believe, is the dominance of conflict in these peoples lives. This could be all they’ve ever known of their country, constant war, the quiet protest of creating these rugs are the way to publicise to the rest of the world. Although in recent history the creation of these rugs has been questioned with more and more copies of the rugs being made for sale in the US, prices range from hundreds of dollars to several thousand. Art collectors believe these rugs are being made to gain a profit and are growing into a tradeable commodity.
References
http://craftivism.com/blog/category/anti-war/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/shortcuts/gallery/2015/feb/03/drones-ak-47s-and-grenades-afghan-war-rugs
https://www.warrug.com/
http://www.colorsmagazine.com/blog/article/drones-on-rugs