Digging Where We Stand commemorated the funeral of Alfred Linnell, a bystander killed by police at a demonstration in 1887 and memorialised in a poem by William Morris, A Death Song. Working across three sites, Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, Red Lion Square and the William Morris Gallery, I stitched the full text of Morris’ poem into a quilt, overlaid with over 70,000 seed stitches. The finished piece was constructed into a banner.
The banner was made for Traces 2025, a biennial event held in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park where artists respond to the environment and history of the site. Phil ** a participating artist had also responded to the Linnell memorial and led a solemn procession to the place of his burial, accompanied by the music and poem composed for his funeral. The banner joined the procession and became a song sheet for those who walked with us, ending with a musical performance that took Morris’ words in new directions.
The next stage of this work is a stitched map of the same dimensions as the banner, with a series of gauze overlays holding individual stories and memories of place, community and activism in Tower Hamlets. The aim is to develop the map through conversation and engagement in summer 2027, exploring the connections between building community and enacting solidarity in this locality.
Digging where you stand is a historical methodology that promotes public participation in local and labour history.
