Fragments of belonging
Strain
Wool and cotton
40"x 23"x 15"
2008
Textile, Mixed media assemblage
Strain explores the tensions between connection and separation, drawing upon textiles as carriers of memory, identity, and cultural belonging. Constructed through the accumulation and layering of tartan and related materials, the work reflects on lineage, migration, and the inherited structures that shape individual lives.
The title refers both to physical tension and to the ancestral lines carried across generations. The layered forms suggest the complexity of family histories, where continuity and rupture coexist. Through repetition, compression, and accumulation, the work examines how identity is formed through both inherited and chosen relationships.