inspiration, etc...: Sheet

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Sheet

Sheet
2011, digital print on cotton, beads,
metallic wire, wall fixations.(photo Jean Dubranna)

(photo Jean Dubranna)

Here's my piece, "Sheet", installed in the group show "What Women Want". Although it was important for me to make a piece specially for the show, I decided not to "respond" directly.
Here's the short statement I wrote which one can read next to the piece:
Stories heard
from female friends
from women I’ve met
during my travels.
Stories I’ve read,
novels and news,
from everywhere.

Women want to be respected. And a lot of women are not, even in the US.
Women are disrespected and it takes lots of different forms in different places but it is always there, one way or another: the rights they do not have, the education they do not get, the choices they cannot make, sexual harassment, domestic violence, inequalities at the work place. I wanted to create an image which is not ethno-centered and can be evocative of different places in the world.

I had the digitally manipulated image printed on cotton, a technique I am using for the first time. I had to make some tries. The people I worked with at BannerExpress were very helpful and thankfully they had a print sale at the time I had my piece printed.

(detail)

I wanted a "fragile" piece, not hard, not framed, floating and not directly placed against the wall. I like when one can "read" a piece from far and get something else when one gets close. I sewed hundreds of transparent round glass beads in the white parts of the print. That took me a long time and I liked the idea of the repetitive work. It reminded me watching my grandmother embroidering white cotton fabric.

Although it is exciting to follow and explore a path, I like the challenges of trying new things, of experimenting. Getting out of my comfort zone and that's what I did here.

I rolled my piece and shipped it to San Diego. I knew it would be tricky to install it (the metallic system is not very friendly). I did not install the piece because I could not be in San Diego the day of the installation. A friend did it for me and I really thank him for that. It was a huge help. The lighting is not great and that's OK. It would nave been interesting to have a little bit of light from behind, to see all the sewing of the bids, the opaque white thread makes a nice pattern on the translucent fabric.

I regret not to have seen the show. I hope I will be able to go to San Diego for the panel discussion, which I hope will be a positive event.