okno k oknu / window to window is an exhibition project between two factories: Koh-i-Noor in Praha and Quaker Oats in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA. The idea is to create an opportunity for open dialogue between two historic factories; providing a window into the heritage of these spaces through collected materials from their community. It begins at Koh-i-Noor. The artist, Sonya Darrow has created an exhibition for Galerie KIN which reflects her cultural heritage with the Quaker Oats factory between her Grandfather and Father, who both worked there. Their legacy at Quaker Oats is shown through the archival collection of her father (Gayne Darrow) and Grandfather (Erwin Darrow) who was an artist working at the factory. Sonya created a quilt made from rags, towels, clothing, and feedsacks from the Quaker Oats factory. She used a dyeing process with rusted machinery and oats for the textiles. Each material used to make the quilt holds a story about the person involved in the collection of it. This quilt is an ode to craftsman and workers. The title image of the exhibition shows the artist and her grandfather standing in front of their craft: wood and textiles. The exhibition also includes photographs of Quaker Oats dating from the late 1920s - 1980s.

The heritage of working at Quaker Oats began with Sonya’s grandfather, who was a wood artist; often used the space as a studio. He was part of the cultural landscape at the factory, which included iconic American artist, Grant Wood. It connects to Koh-i-Noor’s history of artist exhibitions and studio space. Sonya shares a studio with Marie Vránová at the Koh-i-Noor factory. The connections between these two factories are linked in the artistic practice and skills of those who are part of the spaces. There is more to uncover through this exhibition’s dialogue with the factories. The next phase of the exhibition will be Fall 2016 at the Quaker Oats factory in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA. The artist will use this exhibition experience to build a piece about Koh-i-Noor for Quaker Oats.

For the opening, Sonya has collaborated with her father on a visual and sound installation about Quaker Oats factory. Her father’s collection of 35mm slides from the 1950s - 1980s provides an in-teresting look into the heritage of industry in America before factories became computerized and the trade of the workers were more important to factory-life. Sonya has worked with her father on an accompanying sound piece about this time period. It is a sound essay that deals with the change of machinery and sound memory, which includes creating sounds with wooden objects collected from the oldest (still in use) machinery. The sound correspondance between the artist and her father was over a period of a few months. They discussed the differences in the sound environment: machinery, people and spaces. The artist’s father collected sounds that reminded him about the sound heritage of Quaker Oats and the innovative machinery that created new systems for factories across America.

http://sonyadarrow.com/