It has been a hot minute since I picked up a needle and thread. I have been frustratingly uninspired. Not for the lack of experimentation with new materials, and exploration of different themes but because everything I try has felt disingenuous. The following is a work in progress and it’s working titles are Can I Fix You? or Armpit to the Soul.
Gold gouache painted fabric under black ‘t’shirt tears.
Starting the “repair”.
This is not a functional repair, though I suppose my husband could wear the shirt and it would serve its purpose as an item to cover oneself. The repair is once again a metaphor.
Themes:
Repair
“Fixing”
Care
Body
Functionality
More on this later. In the process of the making, themes become clearer to me and I am better able to articulate.
Observations: The shirt layer is very fragile and as each stitch pierces the fabric it weakens the fibres . The white residue is probably a combination of both sweat and deodorant that have left traces of the body, it is where the fabric is weakest. Finally I am getting gold paint everywhere, it is becoming embedded in all parts of the fabric.