My work explores how clothing plays a role in social interactions, and in this current series of prints surrounded with hand-drawn imagery, the clothing is both a form of enclosure and barrier. A mere line can separate inclusion and exclusion, depending on your point of view. Cartographers mark boundaries, real and prescribed, with line and color. These maps are a way to record natural contours, and the human interventions in my own life.
In landscape design, the ha-ha is an unseen barrier for keeping out unwanted visitors from Victorian Gardens. A dry, shallow moat that expands the view of those relaxing inside, it is subtle reminder to the excluded they are unwelcome. I've chosen to print with garments as the matrix in order to remind myself of the impact of the garment industry on the landscape. Clothes worn and tossed remind me of policies that put immediate economics first, without considering the long-term environmental impact.
Blue, 2018, mono-print with hand drawing.
In response to the proposed Polymet mine project, this blue shirt represents the likely environmental impact of the mine over a period of 500 years, and beyond.
During my upcoming residency, I'll be working on a series of these prints/drawings and will post more about the residency in mid-May.