Activate Painting

I am interested in the metaphorical potential of unorthodox materials. The primary material used in my current work is store-bought paper sewing patterns applied directly to the canvas. The patterns are reinterpreted outside of their usual functional context as garment templates to present the female figure as an agent of revolt, stoic martyr, or fantastical being. In every instance the identity of the figure(s) is denied by wraps, bonnets and bound faces, suggesting an anonymous “everywoman” or veiled entity; not invisible, but fractious. By embellishing the garment patterns with custom text from contemporary feminist writing and criticism, a conceptual narrative is created alongside the existing material “narrative”of imprinted assembly instructions. This added textual narrative disrupts the nostalgic or stereotypical notion of “women’s work” and admits an aggressive feminist dialogue into the visual conversation. The viewer is asked to read both the text embedded surface and the image.