Reliquary 1-21 (total projected, 44+)
thread, gesso, oil paint and collage on paper, each panel 84 in x 24 in, 2000-ongoing.
The entire work, Reliquary, will consist of an undetermined number of framed embroideries. Each will represent one year of my life. It is a work that will always be “in progress.” I will add to it, each year, after my birthday passes.
Each narrative describes a memory that summarizes, in microcosm, the particular essence of a time that is past. The actual words that compose the narrative are cut apart and placed in the center of stitched forms that resemble cellular structures. In this way, I try to express my desire that language be experienced on a corporeal, as well as a psychological level.
Reliquary examines both constancy and change within the self. The tiny stitches and the collage of words are used to express an intricate and layered sense of identity within the flow of time. The work places great faith in the notion that poetry exists, even within our most modest recollections. The shape and coloration of each of the individual pieces that compose Reliquary are varied, but the essential construction of each of the elements is the same. We also change in the course of time, but the essential structure of our characters remains constant.
It is my hope that by attempting to express what has felt significant in my own experience, I will ignite in the viewer a sense of the power inherent in personal reflection.