‘Criing quiet’ are the first two words of Elizabeth Isham’s ‘Panel Diary’, an autobiographical manuscript NRO MS IL3365, completed in 1648, now housed in the Northamptonshire Records Office. This research project explores the restorative potential of autobiographical manuscript writing and creativity. Isham’s texts document her bereavement after the loss of her mother. I examine her grief experience and its textual embodiment, as well as mirroring her textual memorial to ‘perform bonds’ with my mother. My practice constructs a theatre of medicine using craft, text, objects, film and music as a tribute to my mother and to Elizabeth Isham. This collaboration transcends centuries of time to shape a contemporary restorative writing practice.

Date of the next 'Criing Quiet' Exhibition: to be confirmed.

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