Terra
Summer 2021
The root of my work is about the markings of the world — the small events unfolding that together tell a story about place. Although I’ve been investigating place and memory since early 2000s, it wasn’t until 2016 that I introduced the Earth as a key inspirational component in the work. A trip to Utah in May 2016 was a springboard for further inquiry. Following the trip, I created a body of work titled “Recording In and On It” where I remarked “I am interested in the marks made as interactions with our surroundings. This includes the tracks, prints, and marks that we make as creatures of the human race, as well as the natural elements that overtime alter the state of the world.” In 2021, I’ve reminded myself what themes in my work are most important to me and challenged myself to further explore them.
I have simultaneously been working on 2 separate bodies of work. One titled “Terra” and the other “History of Here”.
In “Terra” I focused on the the natural elements that alter and transform the landscape. I wanted these paintings to represent the layers of the earth, specifically the beautiful sedimentary rock found on the surface. Sedimentary rock is the cementation of deposited minerals, such as iron oxides, quartz, and clay minerals on the Earth’s surface. Over time, natural elements such as wind and rain erode and alter the earth. I have always been drawn to the usual landscape around Southwestern American for its unique forms, textures, and colours. While standing amongst the monumental buttes and canyon lands, the visitor can almost read the landscape like a book. The history of the earth is stretched out in front of you for interpretation. You ask yourself “how did this come to be?” My hope is that my paintings may read in a similar fashion.
The laborious process of creating these paintings was comprised of dyeing fabrics, painting, sewing, stretching, and re-stretching. The actions were repeated until the desired outcome was achieved. All the while emphasis was placed on the handmade quality and the ability to read the process behind the work.
The multi-step process of dyeing, then sewing together torn fabrics felt essential in telling that story. I spent the first couple months of this year exploring the process of using natural pigments to dye fabric. In this series I have used indigo, henna, marigold, madder, safflower, and clutch. In most cases, the canvases have been over-dyed with more than one colour and the addition of various chemical compounds were used to create the colourful sections of the paintings. These natural pigments have informed the tone of the rest of the painting. Since the paintings were inspired by the Earth, it felt like an organic next step to draw colours from nature.
Last year, I began working with dyed canvases, sewn together, first with body of work “Story of a Girl”, then in “Escape”. Initially I had wanted to introduce a form of art that was symbolically perceived as historically female. Patchwork is mostly a woman-centrered culture, stemming from traditionally sewn quilts, associated with family and ritual. They are a metaphor for a labour of love, carefully pieced together to serve as a warm heirloom. They often tell their own story, sometimes made from fabric with personal importance. Traditionally they made from scraps out of necessity as a way to save on material by the working-class.