Tivaivai - Susanne Kchler

Quilts generically known as
tivaivai
have been produced by women in the Cook Islands, the Hawaiian Islands, the Society
Islands and elsewhere in Eastern Polynesia since the late 19th
century, where they were a substitute for bark-cloth but also
used in ways deeply invested in the new context of Christian
domesticity. In the Cook Islands, quilts are stitched to be given
away at funerals, at weddings and other events marking stages of
loss and severance in the life of a person. Although often kept
for years in trunks far away from the homeland as a result of the
migrant diaspora, the quilt and its threads connect those who
have been parted. Written from both an anthropological and an
artistic perspective, this book examines the visual and cultural
characteristics that have made the Polynesian quilt one of the
most stunning and captivating art-forms to emerge from the
Pacific. It also offers a glimpse into the role played by fabric
in the history of contact with Europeans
although both
traditions shared a common preoccupation with clothing, their
understanding could not have been more different. Illustrated in
colour throughout, with many specially commissioned photographs,
the book will provide not only a unique insight into a culturally
rich tradition but a visual feast to inspire both the quilt
enthusiast and those interested in the broader field of fabric
and textile design.