This winter has felt especially long, I think because we are getting to know a new city, so we're not yet aware of all the inside activities that are available, nor do we have many friends (to visit). So, we've been spending a lot of time inside our apartment. At the end of one especially stormy week (we must have spent 3 full days inside) I was determined to get out of the house, and I thought it might be fun to entertain Sam with fabric in the wind. I think I had more fun playing with the silk than he did watching me.
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Today I visited the Grad Exhibition again and enjoyed the quietness of the empty gallery and just spending time with everyone's work again.
This gave me the opportunity to take photos of two projects that I haven't yet shared in their finished state. Above is my Jacquard weaving called Radical Hospitality I and below are photos of all angles of Radical Hospitality II. They both speak to being in solidarity amidst disillusionment within a community (my church community) which is struggling with disagreement on the core issue of whether or not to welcome homosexuals into our community as equals. I truly struggled when I considered whether I would continue to attend my church if the decision was made to not fully welcome them. These pieces are about that thought process. My imagery for this project is inspired by conversations around the church, hospitality and homosexuality. I will be attempting to wear my convictions when this fabric is made into a dress. The dominating image is that of a chalice which, in the negative spaces of stem, show two like-faces confronting each other; representing the likeness in gender among homosexuals who are in partnerships, as well as echoing the biblical scripture, 'God created man in His own image' Genesis 1:27 I am currently going to a Baptist church here in Vancouver where we are in an active and serious dialogue about this topic. I am extremely convicted about the importance of equality for gays in the church (and everywhere), and am feeling especially overwhelmed lately by the misinterpretation of the bible regarding the topic. I pounded flowers (representing hospitality) into the fabric to achieve texture and later dyed it in potassium to show the contrast of the chalices (silk) against the negative space (rayon). It is no coincidence that the faces are in the 'negative' space. I later rusted the fabric with nails and found objects. I then created a silkscreen of a chain and discharged the image on top, sometimes purposefully placing them across the mouths and eyes of the faces. I'm not extremely satisfied with the obvious image of a chain for the purpose of representing bondage, burden and restriction. I usually like to use more subtle imagery. For this purpose it works though since, when it is made into a dress, it will not be as obvious what they are. In some places I added chains with a foiling technique using gold foil. |
About me:
I'm a west coast Canadian gal who after completing a BFA in Fibres at Concordia University in Montreal moved to the New York metropolitan area where I am pursuing my art practice while learning the ropes of motherhood.
June 2021
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