Knotted Home at Ruth Williams House at the Gene & Marlene Epstein Building

Meg Saligman's Knotted Home installation at our Ruth Williams House at the Gene & Marlene Epstein Building is actually a series of individual pieces inspired by—and in many cases, repurposing—the Knotted Grotto. The text below is from the accompanying signage.

KNOTTED HOME 2018
A Project HOME and Meg Saligman Studio collaboration

Within the walls of this lobby are the prayers and struggles of roughly 150,000 people. Inscribed on white strips of cloth and blessed by Pope Francis, these prayers were collected at the Knotted Grotto, a public art installation that had significant impact surrounding the Papal visit to Philadelphia in September 2015. The Knotted Grotto held space for the struggles of all, while focusing attention on those struggling with homelessness and hunger.

Collected prayer strips have been repurposed and used to create the walls of this residence. The art gains heightened meaning as struggle turns to home.

MEMORY GARDEN
light, projection, video, wood

The names of beloved family members were read frequently within the Knotted Grotto. In this custom, we blend the prayer strips and the names of those we now remember at Project HOME. Thousands of prayers are stored inside this cabinet as they surround the projected names of those who live strong in our memory.

PRAYER RIVER
drywall, LED lights, prayer strips, fabric dye, mixed media

Over 60,000 prayers from the Knotted Grotto were lovingly rolled, dyed, and placed one by one within this swirling alcove. Peace, prayer, and thousands of hours of handwork flow through this main lobby wall.

RIBBON PATH (tile floor)
glass mosaic

The glass tile sections of the lobby floor symbolize prayer strips enveloping and flowing through the pathways of the Ruth Williams House.

PRAYER WALLS 
Lumicore panels with laminated prayer strips

Read the prayers, struggles and dreams of others within these translucent lobby walls and experience the shared condition of human struggle.

EVENING AT THE GROTTO 
acrylic, non woven media, wood, prayer strips

See the process of prayer strips turning into colorful rolled circles. Original prayer strips are displayed in different stages of their transformation from white strip to colorful walls. They flank the painted depiction of a beautiful night in the Knotted Grotto.

DAYTIME WITHIN THE GROTTO 
acrylic, non woven media

Breathe deep, savor this moment, and experience peace depicted within this painting. May the calm and sense of belonging found in the original Knotted Grotto thrive within those who live and work here.

Artist Team: Brian Kane, Gus Gray, James Tafel Shuster, Jonny Buss, Sofia Seidel, Asher Gillman, Callie Connors, 150,000 people who shared their struggles and many others who rolled, dyed and arranged each one.