My original plan was to devote my three quilts in this series to people who made significant contributions to human knowledge about the Earth. The first quilt addressed the discovery of the South Pole of extreme Coldness, with Roald Amundsen in the centre. The second piece paid tribute to Jacques-Yves Cousteau, the French oceanographer, who devoted his life to the exploring the Depth of seas.
The third piece looks up to the world's highest mountain the Mount Everest, and features New Zealander Edmund Hillary. After thoroughly research the history of expeditions, the first successful ascent on 29 May 1953, and Hillary's life, I had the following plan emerging: there should be a high, snow-covered mountain in the quilt, with Edmund Hillary's face sort of blending in but also emerging from the mountain. A little bit like the US presidents in Mount Rushmore. This notion of being part of the mountain came from the many stories and anecdotes that one can read about Hillary's extreme modesty about his achievement, and his humble respect for the 'gods of mountains'.
In addition to pieces of highly textured grey fabrics, and plain while, I used of piece of fabric that I dyed with flour paste, which turned out to be ideal for rocks with a bit of snow. The peak itself is an exact replica of the Mt Everest, but of course the rocks are rather improvised. I played a lot to find a good position for the face so that it blends in but is still clearly visible.
As is stipulated, the quilt measures 60 by 80 cm. It is made of fusible appliqué, and machine quilted with polyester threads.
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