Silke Rys, Jenna Vergeynst - MATRIX project: Thread of Life

Textielkunstenares Silke Rys is working with a group of women from Kessel-Lo with migration roots on a project in which the participants translate fragments of their life stories into textiles. In this way, they are building a 'conversation pit' that can be visited during Transit.\n\nEllen Jacobs creates a matching soundscape, which is also supplemented with live music at set times, for which Jenna Vergeynst will prepare the strings of her harp with wool.\n\nCo-production MATRIX [Center for Nieuwe Muziek] & Festival 20·21\n\nLevensdraad In  Levensdraad stories, textiles, and sound come together seamlessly. For two years, a group of women from East Brabant, coming from all corners of the world, went on a search together for the meaning of their life story. What began as a shared exploration grew into a project in which memory, experience, and tradition become tangible and audible.\n\nUnder the guidance of textile artist Silke Rys, an intimate conversation pit was created: a circular seating area built from fourteen hand-embroidered cushions. Stitch by stitch, the women captured their stories in fabric – buttons as markers of time, color as a carrier of memory.\n\nIn parallel, they developed a new composition for harp and tape together with composer Ellen Jacobs. Just as wool weaves itself between the strings, sounds also weave themselves into an auditory life story: fragments of music, ambient sounds, and memories from different life stages melt together into a sound fabric.\n\n'Levensdraad' (Life Thread) opens a space where you may take a seat for a moment in someone else's story – and also invites you to tell a piece of your own story.\n\nThe project was realized within an intensive trajectory with the women's group Maatschappelijke Oriëntatie and NT2 of Ligo, in collaboration with MATRIX [Center for Nieuwe Muziek] and Silke Rys. Through textile and sound workshops, the theme 'life story' was jointly explored. From the personal stories of the participants, both the physical installation and the composition grew – with as much attention to the process as to the result.