Textile artist Tal Fitzpatrick would have loved to know that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was curled up in front of the fire at the Lodge with her quilt over his lap.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Her PM Please quilt will instead hang at the Museum of Australian Democracy after a turn of events that could have actually seen it in the prime minister's living room.
Fitzpatrick began making the quilt back in 2015, as a piece that would engage every day people in a conversation with the prime minister. The quilt is made up of 121 hand-stitched statements, such as "PM please address the environment", "PM please end homelessness", that Fitzpatrick received through a social media campaign, and an appliqued portrait of Mr Turnbull and his beloved dog Millie who passed away in 2013.
Part of Fitzpatrick's promise to contributors was that she would endeavour to get the quilt to Mr Turnbull so in mid 2016 she drove to Sydney from Melbourne and hand delivered the quilt to his office. Not long after the election she received a call to say he had seen the quilt, that he appreciated the work that went into making it and that he was happy to accept the gift.
In September 2016 she borrowed the quilt back for an exhibition and when she tried to return it she was advised that perhaps it would be best if she kept it as it might get lost in the registry of gifts.
"I would have loved to have known he was actually using it," Ms Fitzpatrick said, "but to have it here in the Museum of Democracy is the next best thing."
She is passionate about being able to use her art as a way of "making change through kindness". Most of the messages on the quilt are gentle in their directness. "PM please don't be shit" is about as rude as it gets.
"There were four major themes in the messages, ideas that came up time and time again, and I didn't leave any out, I didn't edit the messages," she said.
"The four themes were address climate change, improve the treatment of asylum seekers, legalise same sex marriage and address domestic violence. Towards the end of 2015 that's what our conversations were about and they still are."
Museum of Australian Democracy director Daryl Karp said it was an honour to hang Fitzpatrick's quilt in the collection.
"We're excited to have the quilt here on three levels. One, it's a current prime minister; two, it plays into one of the things we're exploring here, the notion of fashion and politics, how it uses the recycled ties and suits; and three, the notion of using the many voices of everyday Australians is really part of what democracy is all about."
