“ Renovation in Pink” is a bracelet made from an 8’ shipping chain. The chain is rusty and cumbersome, intended to be a visual representation of the historical plight of women, such as in the work of Alison Saar. On the rusty chain are bright pink charm clips which provide the anticipation of new charms. I see this is a model for old stereotypes of women being replaced with new ones.
Renovation in Pink 4’x4’
Deja Vu consists of over one thousand hand dyed perfumed flowers, made from tampons, that fill a 8’x10’ wall. The installation is intended to represent a woman’s strength and resiliency. When handed a situation, such as menstruation, women approach their personal lives and careers as if they are limitless. They take something disgusting and make it beautiful.
Deja Vu. 8’x10’
Ancestor was created from clay, a form of dirt, that references the historical concept of mankind being formed from dust. I chose a Cyprus tree because they are known for living hundreds of years. It reminded me of the legacy of a strong woman and the generations of women that follow after her as daughters, mothers, grandmothers, and sisters. The roots have been there a long time and have withstood flood, heat, insects, cold, hail, disease, drought, and even other humans abusing it. The tree is surrounded by “knees” or little seedlings that are growing under the protection of the old tree. They survive because of this, just as mothers, career women and global networks of women, create a support for those who might not survive otherwise.
Ancestor. 1.5’ x 2’
A delicate pink ladder ascends over an army of mens vintage dress shoes. This installation remarks on the modern woman’s creative path to joining a once male dominated work place.
Ascending Ladder 4’ x 5”
Straight Jacket is sewn of canvas. There are international and national news articles transferred to the canvas that remark on women’s current subservient positions in society. The sleeves are embroidered with the topics covered by the articles. The historical belts used to secure the jacket have been replaced with men’s dress belts. These represent how men’s authority is often used as a restraint on women.
The articles focus on sex trafficking, rape, women being under paid, women under-represented in Congress, women told they cannot lead at a public meeting, and women forced to marry to financially survive.
I made this work as a response to men who have told me that women are no longer held down in our world, and that it is ancient news. While it is true that women have made great strides in the last hundred years toward equality with men, there is still a vast frontier ahead, that will require change in order for us to claim true equality and respect.
Trash Talk is a dress composed of white washed brown paper refuse bags and over 3000 loops made from paper shredding. This speaks to the way that women often absorb negative words, or “trash talk”. Instead of discarding them. They collect them over time and construct a “garment “out of them. The dress appears beautiful at a distance but up close the damage is revealed. The loops contain derogatory comments about her appearance, or lack of equality. Each loop has a hand written phrase that was something demeaning said to me, or other women in my family. The writing was a collaborative project that included women volunteers that were from American, Indian, Asian, Middle Eastern and Hispanic backgrounds. They each felt the message in the dress was important. As women, we may tell ourselves that words do not hurt us, even white wash the truth, but until we recognize them as trash talk and discard them, they will affect our self image.
Trash Talk 5’ x 2’
Unsuitable is a maid’s dress sewn from a man’s suit coat. The apron, collar and cuffs are constructed from parts of the man’s dress shirt. This becomes obvious to the viewer up close, as the button holes and label from the dress shirt show up on the sash. The quote on the apron is from an article in the Wall Street Journal. In this sculptural piece, the man’s corporate clothing literally forms the female’s uniform, which speaks to the issue of male CEO’s relinquishing their jobs mostly to other males, which holds females in middle and lower management positions.
Historically women have been made to feel ashamed of menstruating by being told it should not be talked about and it was dirty. In some cultures the women actually have to go in seclusion until their period is over. It is odd why women should be shamed for something the body naturally does to prepare for pregnancy. In truth, every person on the planet is here because a woman bled. It is time to change that shaming process and for women to feel free to express their ideas about the topic without shame. Unmentionables celebrates the woman who is confident enough to say “Here I am. Deal with me an all my unmentionables.”
Women in the work place are often not heard by her male coworkers. This can be exhibited in several ways. It may be that she verbalizes and idea at a business meeting and has it rolled over without comment, while a man mentions the same thing and is praised. It may be a sexist comment that belittles her and reduces her authority. It may be that her accomplishments are simply ignored. If you doubt the reality of this scenario just ask any career woman if she has ever been treated like a dumb mute in a meeting with male colleagues and see what she says.
I made the mask in Unspeakable out of mens dress shoes to reference the way some business men silence their female coworkers. The donkey ears were inspired by my research on Scolds, historical masks society made people wear to shame them. These ears are made from the inside leather of a mans dress shoe. I wanted the female bust to be in professional dress to add contrast to the respect a career woman deserves, versus the humiliation of the mask.
Variations on Pink plays off the name of the famous lingerie line for women. However, this collection of intimate wear is different. Each one speaks to a different type of physical scar that women’s bodies are marked with due to uniquely feminine issues. Simply being a woman invites scars that men will not have, such as, child birth, breast cancer, infertility surgery, and more. Women must be strong to meet the challenges that the toll on their physical body produces.
For years women were prohibited from doing anything besides music and needle arts. This art collaboration used sewing, quilting, and embroidering to create large 9’ x 5’ fabric panels celebrating how women lift up women to stronger positions that remove us from the traditional roles we once played.
Moral Fiber is a barrister’s wig made from the lint collected from female friends. It speaks to how each woman must be the judge of what is fair and equal for her, and In so doing, all women collectively judge what is best for gender equality in the world.