Textiles as Webs of meaning

The English title of the exhibition, Material Matters, is both ambiguous and difficult to translate into Swedish. In one sense it simply states that the choice of material is of import. In other ways, it means "material issues,'' "material substances" or "important questions.'' The English "matter'' has the same double sense as the Swedish "ämne" and can thus be taken to refer both to something material as well as immaterial. Furthermore, if an English- speaking person says that something is "material" he or she can do so both in the sense that it consists of a physical substance and that it is of great import, that it is "essential." In this way, the title Material Matters is a good summary of the discussions – between the artists who make up Fiber Art Sweden and the Norrköping Museum of Art – that eventually led to the realization of the exhibition.