Imagine committing yourself to a project that you knew would take almost a decade of your life: that's what Sandra Sawatsky did when she started on her embroidery project to tell the epic story of our relationship with oil in all its forms.
The Black Gold Tapestry, which runs to 220 feet and uses 23 miles of thread, starts in pre-history and traces the environmental and societal changes that man's quest for oil has brought about, right up to the current era of climate change. It goes on show early next month in Atlanta Georgia.
Sandra made it entirely by herself, working at her home in the Canadian oil city of Calgary. The dimensions and the frame of the tapestry draw inspiration from the Bayeux Tapestry. In this episode, we talk to Sandra at length about why she decided to make the Black Gold Tapestry and what she was trying to achieve.
