KNOTS 2021
Installation view at Center Space Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona.
Upcycled clothing, felt, thread, and yarn.
I make knots to deal with my anxieties. I let my hands do the work, tying and untying as I go, forming the knots that mirror those in my stomach and elsewhere in my body. But there are two sides to knots-they are not just tangled worries. Knots are also connections, points of intersection.
To make the knots, I often use scraps of clothing worn by those closest to me, such as a shirt of my granny, who passed away in the summer of 2020, or my paternal grandmother’s mask, whom I lost the summer of 2021. I coil the garments with thread and yarn to guard them, to keep them safe, and in some cases-as with my grandmothers-to memorialize them. The repetitive motions of making these soft entanglements are a form of meditation to help me to process my fears, losses, and memories.
Photo by Grey Shed Studio.