are you sitting comfortably, 2025

selected - the stitch that bit back 2026 fringe arts bath festival uk

Are You Sitting Comfortably conveys truth and perspective. Fifty miniature chairs form the installation: forty-nine represent the world’s majority-Muslim states, while one distinct chair stands apart, symbolising the only Jewish-majority country, also home to Muslims, Christians, Druze and others. The arrangement invites reflection on both difference and coexistence, highlighting the complex tapestry of identity, faith and nationhood.

The singular chair points to a long and layered history: Jews have maintained a connection to the land of Israel since biblical times, with a continuous presence stretching across millennia despite periods of exile and dispersion. This bond is expressed not only through historical records but through lived tradition, prayers recited in synagogues across the world are oriented toward Jerusalem, anchoring spiritual life to a specific geographic point.

Archaeological discoveries further illuminate this connection, revealing material traces of ancient Jewish life in the region: inscriptions, ritual objects and remnants of communities that speak to a deeply rooted civilization. Together, these elements, spiritual practice, historical continuity and physical evidence, underscore a relationship to the land that is both ancient and evolving.

A textile exhibition for works that refuse to behave. It challenges the assumption that textiles are passive, decorative, or safely domestic. Instead, it presents fibre as a site of tension, rebellion and transformation - where softness is not weakness and every thread carries intent

Jewish Chronicle 1 May 2026

  • Maldives 100% 

  • Saudia Arabia 99.9% 

  • Kingdom of Bahrain 99.7% 

  • Western Sahara 99.6% 

  • Islamic Republic of Afghanistan 99%

  • Algeria 99% 

  • Iran 99% 

  • Islamic Republic of Mauritania 99%

  • Morocco 99%

  • Federal Republic of Somalia 99%

  • Turkey 99%

  • Yemen 99% 

  • Comoros 98.5%     

  • Tunisia 98.2%

  • Republic of the Niger 98%

  • Azerbaijan 97.3

  • Senegal 97%

  • Libya 97%

  • Iraq 97%              

  • Islamic Republic of Pakistan 96.4%

  • The Gambia 96.4%

  • Jordan 96%   

  • Oman 95.9%                                         

  • Turkmenistan 95%

  • Republic of Mali 95%

  • Djibouti 94%

  • Republic of Kosovo 93.49%

  • Bangladesh 91.04%

  • Republic of Sudan 91%

  • Egypt 90%        

  • Kyrgyzstan 90%

  • Syria 90%  

  • Republic of Tajikistan 90%

  • Guinea 89%

  • Republic of Indonesia 87.06%

  • Brunei 82.1%

  • Uzbekistan 80.2%       

  • Republic of Sierra Leone 78.5%

  • United Arab Emirates 76.9%

  • Kuwait 74.6%

  • Republic of Kazakhstan 69.3%

  • Lebanon 69.3%  

  • Qatar 65.5%

  • Burkino Faso 63.8%

  • Malaysia 63.5%

  • Albania 57%

  • Chad 52%

  • Federal Republic of Nigeria 52%

  • Bosnia and Herzegovina 51.3%

  • Israel 18.1%

    1.3% of Jews reside in Muslim-majority countries

Exhibited in:

The Stitch That Bit Back, Fringe Arts Bath Festival 2026, Newark Works, Bath, Somerset (22 May - 6 June 2026)

Measurement: 80cm x 35cm x 10cm

Process: Hand stitch

Materials: Cotton, silk threads, 50 miniature chairs

comments

  • Stunning! So delicate

  • Fantastic conceptualisation

  • Powerful work, so beautifully executed

  • Time for people to get uncomfortable in their ignorance

  • Great concept

  • Powerful!

  • Brilliant. It is a clear demonstration of the current situation

  • The basic wish of Jews in Israel, that is so basic, to sit comfortably in their homeland, is denied and debated by all others who sit comfortably in their places

  • Bravo. A powerful message and exquisitely crafted

  • So great to have a Jewish image in this time of sadly increasing antisemitism

  • Amazing work as always

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