Energy Park display PSNH opens "Industrial Quilt" exhibit

By Larry Clow
HippoPress.com

Textiles and technology meet in "Alternating Currents," on display at the Public Service of New Hampshire's Energy Park building on Commercial Street.

Artist Anne Marie Kenney was commissioned to create an artistic history of the energy company.

"We wanted an opportunity to trace the history of the property" from textiles to the business of energy, said Doris Burke, community development manager of PSNH.

Kenney constructed the work using a combination of "found items" such as circuit boards and copper wire, along with metal mesh and items taken from Public Service workshops. Kenney met with PSNH employees to get inspiration and guidance for the "industrial quilt."

"First I had to learn a little about electricity," she said.

Kenney used each of the eight squares to explore a particular aspect of PSNH's history. One square makes use of blades of grass in order to reference the company's commitment to the environment, while another square uses samples of oil, coal and water to show different energy sources, Kenney said. Light bulbs, fuses, gears from electrical meters, and circuit boards make up the quilt, items which Kenney obtained from PSNH employees. Kenney frequently uses salvaged industrial and computer parts for her work.

"My whole studio is full of microchips and circuit boards," she said.

Kenney has been making industrial quilts since 1990. She previously worked in fabric, but said the mill industry inspired her to explore the connection between technology and fabric. Kenney said she is also interested in the influence women had while working in mills.

"I thought my work could make an exciting statement about that influence," she said.

Kenney's work has been on display across the country. She is part of permanent collections in the Currier Museum of Art and the American Craft Museum in New York City. "Alternating Currents" is on permanent display at the Energy Park building.

Larry Clow can be reached at hippo@hippopress.com