Eliza Bennett "A Woman's Work Is Never Done" 2011
Using the body as medium she embroiders her hand to appear worn and raw. She jousts at the notion that women's work is "easy". Drawing connections between traditional women's work such as cleaning, catering and most importantly caring and the effects these have on the physical body. I venture to say she makes visually apparent what impacts these roles have on the metaphysical body.
Ursula Commander
Textiles from ceramic, blah.
Christine Wertheim and Margaret Wertheim "Crochet Coral Reef" Ongoing
A collaboration between sisters, and now globally between artists, that was positioned to bring awareness to the disappearing Barrier Reef. I find interest in the expanse of "species" created through the changing of patterns, however slight, from person to person in this ongoing work.
Sydney
Chicago
"Midden" 2006
Collaboration between Christine Wertheim, Evelyn Hardin, and Pate Conaway. Made from:
- All plastic takeout containers we used at home, at work, or
while traveling. (Hauling it home on airplanes is a real pain in the
neck.)
- Cleaning product containers (detergents, disinfectants, toilet cleaners)
- Hair product containers (shampoos, conditioners, dyes.
Fortunately Margaret has super-short hair and uses no hair-care
products. This has become a major reason not to go back to long hair).
- Old shower curtains, bath scrubs, toothbrushes, soap bottles (now we only use bar soap.)
- Plastic drink bottles (We Really try not to use these any more, but its impossible not to accumulate some.)
- Plastic bags and plastic wrapping used for packaging cookies,
crackers, pasta, rice, frozen vegetables, meat, deli goods and other
food products. (Everything comes in plastic these days! But some things
come in less plastic. We try hard now to choose the Least-plastic
options whenever we go shopping).
- Plastic knives and forks from meals away from home (we now try to travel with our own cutlery)
- Plastic pill bottles and vitamin sachet packets (we are both fans of Emergen-C which does not seem to come in any bulk form.)
- Plastic toys and geep-gaws (somehow these things come into our
lives as gifts or stupid purchases - we try not to do this anymore)
Do-Ho Suh "Specimen Series" 2013
Made from polyester these life size reproductions show the inner workings and framework of objects within his Manhattan apartment. I'm interested in these works for their CAD like appearance and construction, due to materiality of the polyester screen. The internal exposure of these objects points to mass production but the object themselves are all items deemed "necessity" in the contemporary, common place because of this I imagine their replacements.
