Weaving Stories of Waste, Debris, Detritus: Swept Pile Creature Rugs (2023) MFA Thesis Show, Powerhouse Arts, Brooklyn

I created this interactive installation for my MFA Thesis Show in June of 2023. It began with an examination of a domestic chore (sweeping). I photographed swept piles in my kitchen and studio and made these into abstract drawings/painting. These later informed Swept Pile Creature Rugs, weavings turned creature-rugs, woven with personal debris (as well as from community skill shares). These weavings simultaneously take on the appearance of a sea creatures and dream catchers depending on how they are displayed. The installation featured a pocket zine that invited visitors to contemplate and question quotidian personal debris while picking up and examining the weavings. Here is an excerpt:

Remember when you were sweeping up forgotten things that had fallen under a couch or bed or desk, and in your swept pile there were coins and crayons and hairpins and small things you still wanted to keep because they might be useful? For a moment the thought crosses your mind to rescue these items from the debris and you do. Why do we keep these things? What are we able to let go? 

Feel around in your pockets and the bottom of your bag. What did you find? Why was it forgotten in your pocket? What about this required keeping? What does it remind you of?