“Next Target” by Gillian Moss

“Next Target” by Gillian Moss

This is one in a series of posts featuring an artist whose work is included in the Threads of Resistance exhibition.
 

Artist’s Statement: 

A piece made after hearing the news about the first person deported since Trump became President. A young woman called Garcia de Rayos was deported after checking in with authorities as she had been for the last 20 years. New rules meant she was deported to Mexico, a country she hadn’t lived for at least 30+ years. She had to leave her husband and two children. She was made an example of! I made this piece initially with such anger but once I started, I realized it felt like a stone had been lifted off my chest.

Hear a message from Gillian about her piece below:

“False Dichotomies (I Don’t Fit In Your Box)” by Audrey Hyvonen

“False Dichotomies (I Don’t Fit In Your Box)”

by Audrey Hyvonen

This is one in a series of posts featuring an artist whose work is included in the Threads of Resistance exhibition.
 

Artist’s Statement: 

“False Dichotomies (I Don’t Fit in Your Box)” explores the pervasive black and white thinking of our largely gendered society and insists on thoughtful reflection to deepen or widen that thinking. Drawing from the traditional Victorian era, black and white hexagonal tiles resonate specifically with current bathroom access battles in this life-size work presenting a blended human figure composed of split iconic gendered bathroom signs.

The standard binary of female/male is challenged as a false dichotomy, marked in this piece by the “W” and “M” chest emblems altered into a zig-zag superhero shield; the “skirt” of the left-sided figure being referenced as a ghost cape on the right; and finally, the neutral genital flower, indicating a root that is gender free.

The angled placement of the figure on the background is both intentional and reactionary. Gender fluidity does not fit in the narrowly defined standard binary “boxes” created by society, and neither does this hexagonal human (h=68") fit into the show dimension restrictions (h=60"). Prioritizing the full figure meant a sideways mount at an awkward angle, paralleling the oft-challenging expression of an authentic self as faced by many nonconforming or transgender people in our culture.

How does looking at the figure affect you as part of society? When noticing the grotesque exaggeration of an archetypal male shoulder do you assume features of strength and protection? When seeing a triangle shape extending from the side of a leg, do you assume the predictable skirted garb of a girl with associated vulnerability and shame-filled rape culture, or do you seek and find a superhero cape – symbolic of hidden talents and magical powers? Is there a peepshow/sideshow aspect of the viewer as voyeur made safer/more acceptable by the cover of the fabric medium and does this also serve to make the unspeakable into something we can begin to discuss?

Hear a message from Audrey about her piece below:

“Learn to Question – Learn to Lead” by Candace Hackett Shively

“Learn to Question – Learn to Lead”

by Candace Hackett Shively

This is one in a series of posts featuring an artist whose work is included in the Threads of Resistance exhibition.
 

Artist’s Statement: 

Our kids – and many adults – do not know how to ask the serious questions. They lack the deep understanding of how our nation works and passion to assume its leadership. As our schools have focused on “tested content” for more than a decade, our elementary and middle schools have reduced attention on social studies/history/civics – subjects not included in the high-stakes tests. The foundations of history and citizenship in younger years form a basis for young adults to seek nuance and evidence in their decision-making. Many Americans have never learned to question and reach this level of nuanced participation. In a dangerous confluence, the early 21st century has seen the media, the Internet, and our “leaders” blur our government beyond recognition while pretending that everything is black and white. Today we ALL need to question: question the media, question the tweets of our “leaders,” question our devices, question our sources, question our own friends and family – even question ourselves – to be the citizens and leaders necessary for our nation’s survival.

Hear a message from Candace about her piece below:

“Lady Justice” by Allison Chambers and Emily Robbins

“Lady Justice” by Allison Chambers and Emily Robbins

This is one in a series of posts featuring an artist whose work is included in the Threads of Resistance exhibition.
 

Artist’s Statement: 

First in reference to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to uphold U.S. District Judge James Robart’s block on his travel ban, and then again when a U.S. district judge blocked his executive order withholding funds from sanctuary cities, Trump’s response on Twitter has been: “See you in court.” We decided that the best response to Trump’s bombastic tweets would be to create a piece that essentially says, “Bring it on.” Utilizing raw-edge appliqué, we created a strong, powerful Lady Justice who stands in a defiant and self-assured manner, representing our confidence in the judicial system to fight against attacks on our rights.

Hear a message from Emily about her piece below:

“Chasm” by Sandra Poteet

“Chasm” by Sandra Poteet

This is one in a series of posts featuring an artist whose work is included in the Threads of Resistance exhibition.

Artist’s Statement:

The gap between rich and poor continues to grow, and the middle class – essential to a government for the people by the people – is shrinking rapidly. We can continue with policies that favor the privileged, or not.

Hear a message from Sandra about her piece below:

“I Pledge” by Sara Kelly

“I Pledge” by Sara Kelly

This is one in a series of posts featuring an artist whose work is included in the Threads of Resistance exhibition.
 

Artist’s Statement:
It makes me very uncomfortable, under the Trump administration, to recite the standard Pledge of Allegiance. Instead I wish to pledge resistance to the immorality, deceit, and divisiveness – and vigilance to recognize and protest wrongs whenever I can.

Hear a message from Sara about her piece below:

HAND/EYE magazine features ToR

On June 8, HAND/EYE magazine ran an article (“Quilts with a Message to the President”) about the Threads of Resistance exhibition, and included the following images:

• “Poisonous Words” by Susan Brubaker Knapp
• “#notnormal” by Kristin La Flamme
• “Speak Truth” by Katherine McClelland
• “Nevertheless, They Persisted” by Do Palma
• “Liberty Assaulted” by Judy Coates Perez
• “Women’s March 2017: By the Numbers” by Kathy York
• “My Body My Right” by Sue Bleiweiss
• “Death of Science” by Phyllis Cullen
• “Not So Safe” by Amy Dame
• “Learn to Question – Learn to Lead” by Candace Hackett Shively 

HAND/EYE calls itself “the world’s only journal dedicated to global creativity.… we focus on the work of artists, artisans, designers, and other creatives, unfettered by traditional definitions of art, craft and design.”

You can read the article on their website here:
http://www.handeyemagazine.com/content/threads-resistance