Exhibition Statement
This installation investigates how challenging narratives such as gender dysphoria and body dysmorphia can occupy space within the soft,
Greatly inspired by Tracey Emin’s iconic installation “Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995”, I created a series of “Every Bathroom I Have Ever Bathed In 1995-2020”, starting with the first two life-sized bathrooms I have taken baths in. Each item within them sculpturally constructed using the time consuming, traditional rug hooking methods as a
I explore ideas of the bathroom as a private/public space, a space of self-surveillance, of tension, of discomfort, of sickness, of health, of beautification, of built-up grime, of disgust, of confusion. As a person still grappling with my gender-neutrality, I experience constant anxieties around the use of washrooms, both public and private. I question the physicality of my own body by revisiting intergenerational traumas experienced in these domestic spaces. I have showered in many spaces, but there have been very few bathrooms where I have felt comfortable enough to take a bath in. I can count only six.
My work addresses moments of stress, anxiety, panic, abuse, disagreement, anger, addiction, sadness, body dysmorphia and loss. My curiosity develops in the space where narrative, psychological resilience, mat making and domestic spaces intersect. My bright, colorful, humorous and chunky mats softly and safely start conversations about mental health, gender dysphoria, trauma and the act of making as a coping mechanism. I pull each strand of yarn through meters upon meters of burlap, questioning how repetition in cloth can break negative behavioral patterns. I carry my emotional baggage through this craft of resilience, each completed rug becoming an externalized record of compassion, understanding and self-acceptance.
We will be hosting a virtual artist talk with Larry Weyand on June 9th at 6:30 pm on Zoom
We are thrilled to be hosting Larry Weyand for an online artist talk over zoom. Please register in advance via this link. The registration link can be used to access the webinar even if the event has already started. Please contact us if you have any technical issues. We are very excited to welcome Larry Weyand and to invite you all to hear them talk about their brilliant work!
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Jun 9, 2022 06:30 PM Halifax
Topic: Larry Weyand- Artist Talk
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rYLvLyOwSveQNSX5QXn1Eg
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
