LINDA HAWKE
CAAF Residency st[art]@Art Central, May – June 2011
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Mending is Linda Hawke’s small rebellion against the oversold notion that wholeness comes readymade. All clothing eventually expresses evidence of wear, reminding us of how we bump up against the world. The process of repair can be a liberating act and mended garments can become rich records of our life experience.
The public is invited to drop by with their mending during studio hours and work with the artist to effect repairs. Visitors will be encouraged to share mending stories and these tales will inform a series of mixed media artworks made and exhibited onsite using mended items retired from use.
Linda’s artistic practice is founded on sharing the creative process with others, combining unusual materials, and discovering resourceful ways to express ideas in textiles. She enjoys experimenting with found materials and investigating their relationship to social issues. Her work is informed by her role as an artist-mentor with This Is My City Art Society, where she works with people who have the experience of, or at risk of homelessness.
The Mending Studio is a place where mending is explored as an artistic process, a usable skill, a social allegory, and a medium for interaction and self-discovery. Here, practical stitching meets metaphor in the aesthetics of repair. Please join the artist in rethinking and reclaiming the stitch.