Written by Molly Kinahan
November 24, 2019
Artwork from Interwoven Stories International is currently on display at McGill, and it is important for us to reflect on the creations and career of the amazing woman behind these pieces. Diana Weymar, a Canadian artist and activist, is the composer and curator of this groundbreaking project. Weymar founded Interwoven Stories International in 2016 at her alma mater Princeton University. The exhibition is made up of crocheted pages from a variety of nations, each representing a memory, feeling, or moment in time. The project has found its way to McGill and is currently on display in the Islamic Library up until December 15th. The chapter currently in our care is comprised of the pages made in Damascus, Syria, in collaboration with Syrian activist Mansour Omari. Omari was inspired by his time spent captive in a Syrian jail for his human rights journalism. When he was finally freed in 2013, he promised his fellow prisoners that he would make sure their families knew that they were still alive. This was done by smuggling fabric strips with their names written on them, similar to the pages created for this project. To oversee the project, this story perfectly combined the textile expertise of Weymar and her recruited team member Reem Khatib, the head of Damascus Open Art Space. These pieces were brought to life by Syrian children in Damascus who crocheted the works by hand during one of the most trying times in the country. The pages are used to tell their stories and emotions and the result is truly inspiring. Other chapters of the project from places such as Venezuela and Columbia carry the same power.
Despite its success, Weymar’s catapult to the spotlight did not come through Interwove Stories International. On October 7th of 2017, Weymar posted a piece to her Instagram account that would be the start of a continuing international movement: yellow letters stitched on a dainty floral background stating “I am a very stable genius” – the words of President Donald Trump.
The post was the first of thousands created by Weymar, and people all over the world took part in the cheekily named “Tiny Prick Project”. The crocheted anti-Trump activism soon took over her account, garnering the BC native hundreds of likes per post. It started with one post a week, but with no shortage of material, the crocheted quotes soon began a daily practice. The purpose of the projects is to create “the material record of his presidency and of the movement against it”. Artists all over the world stitched beautiful flowers, animals, toys, and people, contrasting disturbing quotes such as “grab them by the pussy” and “a woman who is very flat-chested is very hard to be a 10”. The project grew, and artists began expanding from just quotes to recreating news images, such as a harrowing rendition of a sobbing child whose parent had just been taken away by ICE. Although the Tiny Prick Project is arguably Weymar’s most popular curation with nearly 50,000 followers on its Instagram page, each of her other works showcase the same breathtaking skill and creativity as this one.
Having only taken up crocheting in 2013, it would be heedless to suggest that this talented artist has reached her peak. Weymar still posts side projects to her personal Instagram which garner lots of love from her supporters and show the versatility of her artistic skill. With most of her large projects still ongoing and smaller ones in constant development, it is clear that Weymar’s already vibrant career has only just begun.
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