stephany latham
I explore the human perception of nature through weavings, natural dyes, soft sculptures, prints, and photographs that reference cultural histories in relationship to the natural landscape.
Concepts that illustrate experiences of vicarious resilience and positive thinking will always permeate my work, as it is at the heart of my activist practice as an art therapist.
Finished works at:
http://stephanylatham.com
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There was time when it never occurred to me to think about “seeing.” In fact, I never thought consciously about the way my vision affected my perception of the world on a social, cultural, and political level. When I think about contextualizing these experiences that are so integral to many experiences of others, I think about the language it takes to communicate them. The language of nature that so many of us are keenly aware of is a visual and sensory one that speaks so eloquently to each of us in a subjective way; for myself I know these experiences go farther back than I can remember. Class status and ancestral histories are affected; it is what makes relationships to the landscape so important for it defines a “culture of place.” Our engagement with nature is at such a cultural and political level that it is extremely rare to find a person that is not impacted by their own natural history of upbringing; our memory is evidence of how our bodies act as an archive of our experiences. It is defined in the way that a line can be drawn in the earth; where people can be labeled as “the other” and yet, still co-exist in the same region, country, or neighborhood.
(Source: asuncame)
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I began this quilt a couple months ago. Every woman in my family has made a quilt at one time or another, and it’s about that time for me to do the same. The quilt explores my family tree, life experiences as well as familial cycles of trauma. Throughout the making of this quilt (which is still in progress by the way) I have been using heirloom fabrics, naturally dyeing patches for color, embroidering translucent lace patches, as well as scanning photos of important objects and papers that are relative of these experiences and printing them onto fabric. I am not ready to show the whole piece, but here are some glances.
I am interested in listening to stories of resilience. I want to here others speak their mind. Share what you think. It’s important.
For more of my work check me out here.
(Source: asuncame)
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The leaves from the Sugar Maple Tree fell were sewn and fell to earth.
Artwork by Stephany Latham
