They Know from the series Veronica's Cloths Collage

While this body of work is not about a particular religious belief or canon, the series title takes its name from the St. Veronica legend. It is said Veronica wiped Christ’s face with her veil during his journey carrying the cross. The image of his face miraculously left an impression on the cloth. The series Veronica’s Cloths explores the residual nature of trauma. Each work is an assemblage sewn on a vintage handkerchief in a manner purposefully pointing to that which is “grandmotherly,” wise, and reflective. The unexpected juxtapositions of familiar materials, emotionally-charged images, and menacing objects (insects, spiders, snakes) are designed to attract and repel the viewer – an uncanny valley. The works represent flashes in the mind’s eye and suggest an untold drama of violation, loss, anger, grief, pain, and shame. The images are photographs of details from objects in public collections and museums (art, natural history, cemeteries, arboreta, et. al.). These details taken out of context suggest clues to a more complex narrative drama and beg the question, “what happened?” They represent the hauntings of experience, call for justice, and hope for resolution and healing during a time of isolation and injustice. The works are informed by my heritage as an Irish-American (non-practicing) Roman Catholic growing up in the South and my beliefs in feminism, secular humanism, and social justice. Writings on phenomenology, ontology, hauntology, and semiotics provide theoretical underpinnings. I admire contemporary vernacular art, Mexican retablos, Huipil Grande Traje de Gala of the Istmo de Tehuntepec tradition and other types of resplandors, religious shrines, Baroque art, 17th Century Dutch still life paintings, Haitian Voudou flags, and African power figures (nkisi) of Kongo tradition. Biography K. Johnson Bowles’ artworks focused identity, social justice, and sexual politics have been showcased in more than 80 exhibitions. Her most recent body of work, Veronica’s Cloths, has been featured in 47 art and literary magazines in the U.S. and abroad. She has been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Houston Center for Photography, Visual Studies Workshop, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She received an MFA from Ohio University and BFA from Boston University. www.kjohnsonbowlesart.com

Collage:Photo on Plastic

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:16 W x 16 H x 0 D in

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