I work in silk sculpture, and am creating a series of “shields” for the torso, pelvis and face. My work has typically communicated ideas and metaphors that are personal or conceptual; this series is also, decidedly political. As a woman and artist, I feel besieged by the political decisions that are being made currently in our nation, by an elite of powerful men, that threaten the social fabric of our nation’s democracy, and, as importantly, place in greater jeopardy our world’s magnificent natural environment, which stands at a fragile precipice.

Sculpture

The trick is that these “shields” are formed in silk fabric through shibori, a process that employs resists in color and form by tying objects into fabric, immersing them in dye, drying them, then removing the objects. The resulting shapes create surfaces that read as points, but are actually soft and pliable. The threat of countenancing these shields is purely metaphorical; the points are strangely beautiful, menacing and ultimately, symbolic. They hold the memory of sharp objects, not the objects themselves.

 

Drawings

The lightweight nature of these sculptures, and my positioning of them with needles 3-5” away from the wall, create shadows on the walls behind them. These shadows, as well as the linear elements within the sculptures, add more layers of visual content and meaning: who are the actors who are “in the shadows” that threaten freedom? What are the things we must keep “in the shadows” to protect? Therefore, I will mount this series in the BW gallery in conjunction with some drawings that are derived from the sculpture’ shadows.

 

Installation

In addition, I will install a piece that engages viewers directly, allowing them to trace their own shadow, and write about their own experiences and aspects of their life that need protection in this climate.

 

Half of all proceeds will be given to Doctors Without Borders, Planned Parenthood and The National Wildlife Federation.

 

To see the range of my work, please visit rebeccatextiles.com. If you have any questions, please email  rebcross@gmail.com  or call 440.935.0041.

 

Fawick Art Gallery

Baldwin Wallace University

95 E. Bagley Rd

Berea, Ohio 44017

 

Monday – Friday 2 – 5pm

Closed on all School Holidays

 

SHIELDS AND SHADOWS: WORKS OF REBECCA CROSS: September 8 – October 13

Reception 5 – 8 pm Friday, September 8

 

BW ALUMNI EXHIBITION: October 27- November 21