What Remains Behind (USA)

I spent a lot of time thinking about the theme of this show. I was inspired by the idea of mending something abstract with a physical manifestation. I considered my mending practice- always mending things outside of myself. And the phrase- physician heal thyself- kept floating through my thoughts. For me this translated to – stitcher mend thyself. I thought about my personal wounds and considered any that might benefit from mending or fortification. I decided to focus on my relationship with my mother and sisters since the death of my father in 2021.The “broken” element is represented by my favourite family photo.I decided I needed to work on my project with the cooperation of my mother and sisters. None of us is alone in grief. I mailed each of them a vintage linen and we set up a zoom date. During the meet up we talked about my father and all that had happened in our lives since his passing-how we were faring in our separate and joint grief and how we were moving forward.We also intentionally stained the vintage linens with our lipstick, tears and beverages (tea and wine). They returned the now stained linens, and I embellished them-emphasizing markings, lip prints and stains. Then I mounted the linens on a canvas and proceeded to weave our connections- each of us represented by one colour thread. The resulting “repair” wall hanging is a meditation on grief and rebuilding a family after the death of a loved one. I completed the work on the 4th anniversary of my father’s death. It’s delicate and strong and deeply intentional.Incorporated on the back of the piece is one of my father’s handkerchiefs. Connecting us and supporting us still. Grief only exists where love once was  – Vintage linens, canvasLipstick monoprints with hand stitched embellishment, off loom weaving mounted on a machine stitched canvas 99 x 99