‘How to make a rabbit from a sock…a necklace from a frock’ was included in ‘Handycrafts – at home with textiles’, a partnership project between Objectspace and Te Tuhi. Rose Griffin the curator, wrote about this work in her forward in the exhibition catalogue – “Fran Allisons work draws upon the handy habit of recycling (a recurring theme in the exhibition) or reworking objects in the style of the magazine projects that instructed readers in : ‘making a rabbit from a sock’ or a ‘peg bag from a tea towel’.
During the 40’s and 50’s there was a definite ‘make do and mend mentality’. Here a spotty 50’s frock has been painstakingly shredded, individual dots cut out and repurposed as poppies, strung to make a necklace.