30cm x 20.5cm, Embroidery silk on calico, acrylic and watercolour paint
Living in the wilderness of the world’s third largest canyon, with wild beings, I have rediscovered my sense of innocence, tenderness and joy. My own hyper-functionality and sense of value in a demanding material world that insisted I be competitive in order that I value myself has been highlighted, and is referenced in this work.
The zebras remind me of what it means to live in a closely bonded community. Like us, they are prey animals on constant high alert. Herds are broken up, and contained, separated and managed for human pleasure and entertainment. This trauma and chaos we wreak on the natural world impacts the discord of our own humanity.
This work invokes yearning where reverence for nature and her teachings has shaped our behaviour. The work evolved mysteriously, where one element evoked another, and then another, until all the “sound” of the dance fell silent. What I could not explain in words found its answer in the ancestral song of images.