The Image as an Object

Andy Warhol, Chain Link Fence, c. 1980

Gelatin Silver Prints, stitched

Several things about this work really resonated with me:

1. The physicality of the stitches; sewing the photos together merges image and object
2. The act of sewing and connections it could draw between me and my mother
3. The practice of quilting and connections it could draw between me and my grandmother
4. The potential for pattern-making and abstraction

From the moment I saw this work I wanted to experiment with sewing photographs. In August, I posted about the narrative qualities of detail shots. I think abstracting these detail photographs by cutting them apart, reassembling them and sewing them back together is an interesting way to expand this line of thinking.

I will look to several artists to inform this particular series of work:

1. El Anatsui
2. Gee's Bend Quilters
3. Faith Ringgold
4. Romare Bearden
5. Aaron Siskind

There are 3 short-term goals for this work:

1. Abstracting individual images
2. Combining individual images with archival images from the same location
3. Combining multiple images from the same location

I'm super excited to begin this series. I've been working on editing the photos to print this week. In the meantime, my new sewing machine just arrived so while I wait for the prints, I will experiment with sewing paper using whatever I find lying around the studio.