MOURNING PIECE
Mourning piece is a collection of 51 cyanotype images, that have been embellished with a variety of embroidered interventions, each cotton square stitched with tiny crosses in each corner to a larger piece of silk organza. Each square of silk organza has been sewn together in the form of a quilt.
Mourning Piece is a collection of 51 cyanotype images, that have been embellished with a variety of embroidered interventions, each cotton square stitched with tiny crosses in each corner to a larger piece of silk organza. Each square of silk organza has been sewn together in the form of a quilt. The quilt is suspended away from the wall and the viewer is able to circle the semi-transparent piece. The workings and human imperfections in the work is visible both front and back. The 51st piece is a downward looking face in profile, stitched with freeform embroidery in glossy red, suspended alone on its own piece of silk organza.
This project began with my meditation and contemplation of the mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand on the 15th of March, 2019, and the realization that my home, origin and birthplace has now been touched by terror.
In shock, I began printing myself, holding fleeting impressions on cotton fabric soaked in cyanotype chemistry, a solution containing; Potassium Ferricyanide, Ferric Ammonium Citrate and Potassium Dichromate. Each cyanotype represents 10-15 minutes of utter stillness and quiet. Holding a position so that the shadow and the contact points are registered through sunlight and darkness.
Months later as I had a collection of these imprints, I began stitching into them, remembering lost crafts I had learned as a child. Using colors representing blood, veins, sinews and bone, each piece was individually approached, marking the traces left by my human self or my shadow. The repetition and pop of the needle pushing through the fabric and the reality of the needle pricking straight into my finger made some sort of physical sense and a marking of time, in the face of such a senseless and incomprehensible act of violence against innocents.